Gambler and Vagabond
by guyw1tn0nam3
Summary: Avatar Kyoshi's time was tumultuous, a time of war and suffering. But that doesn't stop Hana and Shijin, a waitress at a brothel and an exiled Airbender, who wander the Earth Kingdom with only their misadventures and a set of Pai Sho tiles to pass the time. An in-depth look at the complex game of Pai Sho.
1. Lesson One

**A/N: **An exploration of Pai Sho, and an inner look at the lives of those who play it. Enjoy.

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><p><strong>Lesson One: The White Lotus Gambit<strong>

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><p>"Goodbye."<p>

As his silhouette disappeared as dawn approached, leaving her trembling over a board of scattered Pai Sho tiles, there came a period of reminiscence, a recounting of all that had happened in the last year.

After all they had gone through, when all was said and done, Hana still remembered their meeting.

It was a summer, an abnormally colder one. Some said Avatar Kyoshi's tensions with Chin the Conqueror had escalated to the point where the spirits had calmed the sun down in an effort to cool negotiations. Other self-proclaimed scientists believed the poles of the world were reversing, and that winter would be hotter than ever before. Many even considered the possibility that the infamous Wu Jian, a band of ruthless mercenaries hired by barbarian warlords, had sent Waterbenders across the Earth Kingdom to freeze settlements still loyal to terrorize the country side.

But to Hana, none of these concerns really meant anything to a poor young waitress in Omashu trying to make a living. Matters of political infighting and geographical disputes flew above her head, replaced by the sounds of lecherous men constantly shouting their orders in her ears. These mobsters had come to the shop more than just for the free tea and nightly alcohol. Hana's boss was a powerful man with great links to crime bosses living in Omashu, and he had turned the shop into a gambling ring for his customers and a brothel for himself.

It was one of the busiest parts of the day when the Airbender came. Left and right, drunk men were reaching out to grab a piece of Hana's elusive clothes. Laughs and the occasional brawl rung through the large room, metal clanged against metal as gamblers threw gold coins over Pai Sho tables.

He came in wearing the robes of the Airbender nomads, though they were considerably dirtier than the bright orange colors that other nomads passing through Omashu had been wearing. A long elongated staff was strapped to his back, intricate spiral designs sketched onto its wooden surface. He bore the look of a wanderer, a foreigner, an outsider. The men in the bar all cast him an intrigued gaze before returning to their drinks and games.

He sat at an empty table at the front of the shop. He ran a hand through his short hair, an oddity for the normally bald nomads, and motioned for Hana, who was the waitress closest to him, to come to the table and take an order.

"Get me a cup of ginseng tea," he said as she approached. His voice was soft and light. Hana had heard of Airbenders who had become so powerful that even their voices were loved by the wind. His voice flowed into her ears like a lullaby. Perhaps it was because all she got to hear all day were the drawls and drunk slobbers of mercenaries and villains, but whoever this man was gave her a breath of fresh air. "And if you have rice, get me a bowl too."

It was a strange order, and it was one that told her that this man had never been around to Omashu before. No one came to this shop only to drink tea, especially if they were expecting any good tea. The façade of a tea shop was only to fool any remaining police officials who got in the way of organized crime that couldn't be bought.

The Airbender ate the food quickly, wolfing down large balls of rice at once. Hana wasn't even done setting down the hot tea before the monk had already gobbled down every last grain with a hunger that Hana hadn't seen from her usual customers. Yet, despite this, the monk treated the tea in a much different fashion, taking his time to enjoy the fragrance of the ginseng before taking delicate sips of the drink.

"That will be a single silver coin," Hana calculated when the Airbender had finished, standing over the monk as he reached into his sleeves for the money.

He fished around in his left sleeve and then frowned. He thrust his other hand into his right sleeve, and he wrinkled his forehead. He pulled his hands into the inside of his robes and felt around the side pockets, and his lips tightened, his cheeks turning pale.

"That pickpocket," the nomad whispered just loudly enough for Hana to hear.

It was then that he eyed the table in the corner and a Pai Sho set resting on it. A few men were crowded around the table, where two middle aged men assembled in the last throes of a game. Aside from the board and the pieces spread across it, there also were four pots sitting on the table. Two of them were filled with additional tiles and the other two filled with gold coins, bets that the observers had thrown in. Hana recognized the two players as copartners in a local gang. These were dangerous men, and they were regulars here.

The nomad stood up and faced Hana. "I will have your payment shortly," he said, and walked to the table as the game finished. The smug winner folded his arms, his lips curved in a lopsided smile. Half of the crowd cheered and swept the earnings from the pots. Their hollers ended abruptly when the Air Nomad entered the circle and faced the winner.

"May I have this next game?" he said, his attention directed at the winner.

"Boy," was the response from the heavy bearded man sitting lazily at his seat. He leaned forward, placing his elbow on the table. "Do you know who you're dealing with? I'm Tau, master of the tiles in this city. Nobody has beaten me in the last month, and the last person to do so cheated his way to get it. Had to cleave his hands off to teach him a lesson."

"It doesn't matter," was the Airbender's response. For a moment, Hana's heart skipped a beat, scared that the strong bulky looking men around the table would take that statement the wrong way. Tau's face turned grim as he eyed the monk with caution. "Pai Sho is Pai Sho. I don't need to worry about who I'm playing."

"Do you even have money to bet with, boy?" Tau frowned. "No money means no play."

"You can have this if you win," he pulled his staff from his back and leaned it against the table. Immediately everyone eyed the nicely carved wood and exquisite designs. "Airbender weapons are priceless at antique shops are they not?"

Tau seemed enticed by the offer. He silently consented by throwing his just won earnings back into the pots. The crowd, excited by the newcomer, threw their money disproportionally into Tau's pot. Surely the master of the tiles in Omashu must have meant something against an unknown overconfident challenger.

The monk sat down and gave a quick bow to the man on the other side. Tau scoffed and laughed with the other observers. They cleared the board of pieces and placed them back into the pots. Hana stepped forward, trying to get a better look. She was usually never allowed near the Pai Sho tables. Her boss had done whatever he could to keep any of his women from the boards, but at the moment Hana noticed that he wasn't around.

"Hey you," Tau gave Hana a cold stare as she approached, a clear sign that he knew that she shouldn't be watching. "Don't you have some men to attend to? Or are you one of those waitresses that Pan is trying to 'ripen' up for us? Whatever it is, no women at the gambling tables. You should know that."

"He's my customer," Hana pointed at the nomad. "I need to ensure he pays, so I'm staying here."

"Let her stay," said the Airbender, a conclusive tone to his voice. Again, Hana's heart skipped a beat as the animosity amongst the confused crowd began to grow. There was a certain air of superiority in the Airbender's voice that must have annoyed half of the restaurant. "After I pick my earnings, I'll pay and leave immediately."

"So that's what this is about?" Tau grinned, flipping a few tiles in his palm. "I guess after this you'll be left without a staff and a debt to this restaurant. And you know what they do to people who have debts at this place don't you?"

The observers snickered again, the clinking of metal swords and daggers surrounded the two competitors.

"Guest gets first move," his opponent waved over the board. "As an Airbender, I assume you open with the Nomad's Path? Go ahead and try. I should warn you before you do though, I've beaten plenty of monks with my Pai Sho style."

The nomad was completely silent. All he did was place a tile in the middle of the board. Hana knew little of the game, and much less about any of the rules in place. Still, she did recognize the tile as a White Lotus piece. When he placed the tile down, a few members of the crowd laughed even more, Tau gave a quizzical look at his opponent, and the Airbender did nothing but await for his opponent's next move.

"My, my," said Tau, rubbing his chin as he scrutinized the board carefully. "An Airbender that doesn't follow the Nomad's Path and one who throws a White Lotus tile on the very first move. I think we have someone who seriously wants to lose here."

"Your move," said the monk, his eyes carefully scanning over the board, his mind thinking of all the possibilities in the next play. He drew a deep breath and exhaled, smiling as he took a look at his opponent. "I have no intention of losing on the second turn."

In response, Tau placed a tile inscribed with wooden wheel at his end of the board, directly lined up in front of the Airbender's White Lotus piece. Hana recognized this as the Wheel tile. The crowd seemed to nod in approval, as if victory was assured in the very next turn. Hana scratched her head, not understanding these moves at all. Then again, she was barely even aware of how the Wheel tile moved.

The Airbender then placed a Wheel tile of his own on the opposite side of the board, so that the two wheels would, had it not been for the White Lotus piece, be facing each other. Tau then frowned, and looked up at his silent opponent, who appeared deeply engrossed in the tiles and nothing else around him. Tau looked back at the board, his eyes glancing around curiously, as if he was slightly taken aback that he had not realized something.

"Aren't you a sly one?" Tau growled, before laying down another piece. This tile had an orange arrow inscribed in a white oval. The Sky Bison piece, Hana recognized. This piece was placed at one of the corners of the board, at the point where two red triangles intersected. For some reason, Hana had always seen the Sky Bison tile placed at these exact locations. "Let's see how you deal with this."

"Simple," the Airbender muttered and threw a tile in front of the Sky Bison. The tile's surface was a beautiful flower with an abundance of petals. A chrysanthemum.

Tau seemed to be growing frustrated as he placed another Wheel tile into play, only to have the Airbender place his own wheel time opposite Tau's. The crowd looked on at the match, whispering to themselves quietly as the restaurant seemed to hone in on the match. For Hana, all these whispers and frustrated remarks came off as strange and foreign. For all the courage it took to tell the men that she wanted to watch, it really didn't do her any good not knowing any of these rules.

Still, she was amazed, watching this Airbender play. His composure, his piercing eyes, his delicate fingers wrapping around the tiles like a mother to a mooselion cub. For the first time since she had started working here, Pai Sho seemed more than a ferocious gambling arena. It appeared more than just a board with pots of gold coins spilling from the table. It drew her curiosity for the first time.

She wanted to learn how to play.

After a few more moves, Tau's face grew angrier and angrier. His frustration seemed to steam from his pores, his subordinates taking small steps away from him in case he lashed out violently with the rapier parked at his waist. He took rapid looks up and down, staring unbelievably at the board and glaring angrily at the Airbender, who did nothing but respond to his moves seemingly without another thought.

Finally, after a little over two dozen moves, the Airbender placed a final tile upon the board. The White Dragon tile, its tile denoted by the White Dragon flower crafted into its wooden surface. Just from the gasps from the crowd, Hana could tell this tile was one of the most powerful tiles yet.

The monk then looked up from the board, his eyes staring straight at Tau, and opened his mouth to speak. "You have yet to place your White Lotus tile. As there is no appropriate place for you to now place that tile, I win by default. I believe I deserve whatever is in your po-"

"You cheated!" cried Tau loudly, pulling his rapier from its scabbard. He pointed it directly at the monk, his eyes burning with anger and fire. His subordinates and comrades slowly took their hands to the sword as well. "There's no way that I could have lost. The only explanation is that you pulled an illegal move! White Lotus first? Who wins that way? There must have been a trick. Take him and his staff too!"

It all happened so quickly that she barely remembered the exact details. The mob closed in around the Airbender, swords drawn, teeth clenched, shouts rang. Hana was too struck by shock to even look away. Her eyes were widened, locked at the scene developing in front of her.

He grabbed at his staff as the swords came uncomfortably close to his clothes. In the next second, mercenaries and gang members were blown away in a tremendous torrent of air. They fell back against tables, knocking around Pai Sho tiles, gold coins, and food all over the establishment. The few who stood firm against the first burst of air were next, and a second a round of wind sliced through the room, cracking doors, breaking down chairs, and smashing the pillars that held up the restaurant's ceiling into bits.

Hana herself found herself bracing against this furious current by holding onto a column holding up what was left of the roof. Bits of dust and wood flew past her face, and she closed her eyes in fear of being blinded by the occasional sharpened spike that thrust past her. When the attack had ended, Hana opened her eyes to a restaurant completely torn apart. Men from all corners of the room were moaning, few of them were still standing, and those who were stayed clear of the Airbender, who stood at the middle of the room.

His back was to her, and in the evening sun, his silhouette stood bright and almost angelic to Hana. She gazed onward, her mouth slightly open at this powerful man, standing eyes closed in the middle of a destroyed whorehouse. A powerful bender, a strong master of culture and the arts, a soft and calming personality. It was a powerful sense of awe that consumed her, followed by a realization.

_He's the one_, Hana thought. _He has to be the one_.

With what strength was left from her body, Hana sprinted towards the Airbender and gripped his arm firmly. The nomad turned to her as if ready to strike, but he paused the moment he realized it was the waitress that had served his food. Hana looked at the monk with strong determined eyes and, without a word, pulled him away from the rubble of the shop and raced into the streets.

She ignored the cries of "Hana is escaping! Hana is escaping!" She kept running, her bare feet crunching against the uneven rocky road. Strange eyes that she had never seen before glowered at her while she raced down the next block, recognizing her face at Pan's infamous whorehouse. There was no use in remembering those times. All she could do was hold onto the Airbender's arm and run.

"Where are you taking me?" the monk instantly demanded as shouts from Tau and the rest of his crew boomed through the city streets and grew louder and louder.

"Anywhere but here!" Hana pulled the Airbender along, her small hands tightly gripped around his strong forearm. "Forget about the bill. Forget about this place. Forget about everything that's happened. Just make sure you're taking me with you too!"

"I want to learn Pai Sho from you!"

Those fragile hands held onto that arm for a long time.

_To be continued..._


	2. Lesson Two

**Lesson Two**: **The Nomad's Path**

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><p>Summer showers were rare in the Earth Kingdom, but given the abnormally cold weather at Omashu, Hana felt no surprise when the raindrops started falling on her nose.<p>

If anything, she was more surprised that she was scaling up the slopes of a rocky mountain with a bowl of rice in her hands. It was only a drizzle, but Hana still kept the bowl close to her small chest, her face dipped to prevent any water from hitting those soft grains. The combination of cold water tapping her neck, the numbing feeling of bending her neck over the bowl for hours, and jagged rocks scraping against the soles of her feet made her more than uncomfortable.

"What am I doing here?" Hana whispered to herself, bitterness and frustration laced through her words. "That stupid Airbender, sending me on this useless errand. It's impossible."

That's right. It was the Airbender, who hadn't even bothered telling her his name, who had sent her climbing up the tricky roads of the Kolau Mountains all night. By the time Hana had stopped running, they had already been miles away from Omashu, evening had come, and the Airbender had the wildest and most confused expression that Hana had ever seen.

They had arrived in a town at the foot of the mountains. There were no homes, and the only buildings that lined the streets were small trinket shops, a lone motel, and food stands for passing travelers. Hana and the Airbender stood in the middle of the street, panting as they shook off the exhaustion from having run all the way from Omashu. The monk had gazed down at her, split between asking her if she was crazy or if her feet hurt.

"You don't need to say anything," Hana had smiled, and finally let go of the man's arm, which she noticed had gone crimson red from having been clenched by her fingers. "You've already taken me away from that place. I am very grateful."

Hana bowed, but when she stood straight to face the Airbender, he had already started walking away. He seemed to be scratching his head in confusion, his eyes scanning the night sky for which direction he should be heading next. After a moment, he nodded his head and tapped his staff on the ground, revealing a pair of orange flaps that flipped open from a hidden compartment in the staff.

"Wait, wait, wait!" she had shouted after him, and held onto his arm again, her eyes wide. "Where are you going?"

"Somewhere else," the Airbender tried shaking the strong grip Hana had on his arm. "Could you let go of me?"

"Take me with you," Hana pleaded. "Are you just going to leave me here?"

"That's the idea," the monk replied.

"But didn't I tell you to take me with you?" Hana held his hand firm on his arm. Her eyes glared back at the monk. "I told you didn't I? That I wanted to learn Pai Sho from you."

The Airbender sighed, folded his glider, and turned back to face the young girl standing almost a head shorter than him. She had amber colored eyes, a trait uncommon among Earth Kingdom denizens, and they stared back at him with a blazed intensity. He could have run, and she would never have been able to catch him. But perhaps the exhaustion from an afternoon filled with running compelled him to stay and rest before leaving this strange girl behind.

"I never said anything about taking you with me," the Airbender responded, folding his arms. "I also didn't say anything about teaching you Pai Sho either. You just said those things. I never agreed to them."

"But won't you?" Hana bit her lip. "You didn't pay the bill at the restaurant, and you destroyed it too. Don't you think this is good enough payment? I won't be a burden. I can cook food pretty well if you can catch it. I can even make money."

"No," the monk put it bluntly. "I don't need another person accompanying me. And besides, I don't owe anyone anything. They attacked me after I won a fair game. It's their fault that I destroyed their establishment after trying to pull a trick on me."

"But," Hana looked down, grasping for words of reason that weren't there. Suddenly tears burst into her eyes, and her determined face broke into an expression of anger and regret. "But…you…me…."

"Why do you even want to learn Pai Sho?" the Airbender took a deep breath, trying not to cause a commotion on the streets, as a few people passing by already were giving him strange glances. "It's a hard game to play, and even harder to master. It's not for people who simply say that they want to play."

"I, well," Hana wiped away her tears for a moment. Perhaps there was hope after all that he would teach her. "I saw you play, and it was inspiring."

"That's it?" the Airbender shook his head, his forehead creased, and his eyes narrowed. He looked insulted all of a sudden. "Look, Pai Sho isn't a game where you just look upon someone and suddenly realize you want to play it. Pai Sho is a game of expression, culture, and above all, an inner look at the self. If you just want to learn Pai Sho because you saw me putting down a few tiles and beating down some garbage commoners, then no matter how hard you cry, I will never teach you."

The girl seemed taken aback. Perhaps the Airbender had appeared too harsh, but for the amount of trouble that she had caused him, he certainly didn't regret it.

"I'm tired, I recommend you try finding a place to sleep tonight, seeing as how both of us have little money and no place to go back to," the Airbender murmured, and turned around again, finally shaking the weakened grip Hana had on him. "I don't mind if you stay with me tonight, but tomorrow morning you're on your own."

"What can I do," Hana whispered, her fists clenched, her eyes still staring fiercely back at the monk. "What can I do to convince you to teach me?"

The Airbender stood silent. This time, an immediate response eluded him. He thought about it for a moment, and he concluded that it would be best that the girl realized how much he didn't want to teach her on her own. If he gave her an impossible task, then she would figure out that it was best not pursuing his tutelage and move on. He looked towards the mountain, then back at the girl. He pointed at the top of the slopes.

"Tame a badgermole and bring it to me," said the Airbender. "And I'll consider giving you a shot."

And so, Hana had spent what little was left of her money on a hot bowl of rice and had spent her night wandering about the mountains, searching for any trace of the legendary badgermoles. Morning was arriving, and the dark clouds turned grey as the sun undoubtedly shined behind them. Hana's stomach grumbled, her mouth drooling at the cold rice.

"What am I doing here," Hana repeated. "I'm not an animal tamer. I don't look for badgermoles. I am…I am…"

She couldn't finish her sentence. Irritated, Hana sat down and leaned against one of the large rocks littered on the mountain. She took a ball of rice and popped it in her mouth, noting the sour taste that colored her tongue. She lifted her face towards the morning clouds, and felt cool drips of rain clean away her sticky skin.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Hana spotted a tiny black nose poking out from the other side of the rock. It sniffed at the air curiously, sensing that food was nearby. Hana grabbed another ball of rice and flung it towards the nose, and sure enough, a creature instantly jumped into view, grabbing up the rice in its clawed paws and devouring it. White stripes lined its back and tail, its eyes small and blind. It looked exactly like the pictures drawn on the Pai Sho tile named after it.

"A real life badgermole," Hana gazed curiously at the creature, which looked around cautiously with each bite of rice that it took. She threw it another ball of rice and it came closer, noticing that someone was feeding it. "Couldn't you have appeared sometime earlier last night?"

The creature whimpered in response, coming close to Hana and rubbing its soft fur against her body. It must have been asking for more food, so Hana dumped the rest of her rice on the floor and watched as the animal gobbled up the remainder of her money.

"I wonder," Hana reached out to the pet the creature, who, though reluctant at first, soon allowed Hana's soft pale fingers to stroke its head. "Why you're out here. Where are your mom and dad? It's not nice for parents to leave their children in the middle of nowhere."

The badgermole was quiet.

"Yeah," Hana stroked her new acquaintance under the chin. It seemed to like it. "I wouldn't have much to say to them either."

Suddenly, the badgermole froze. It pounded its paws on the floor, as if it was trying to confirm something. It turned towards the rock, then without a single warning, sprinted down the mountain.

"Hey, wait!" Hana shouted after it. For a creature that was supposed to grow a hundred times its current size, Hana was surprised at how quickly the little critter covered the ground. She looked at the half eaten bowl of rice next to her. "What was its problem? What was it looking at?"

She stood up, turned around, and her nose touched a very slimy muzzle. Her eyes met a narrowed angry glare, her mouth almost kissing a sharp tooth sticking out from the beast's mouth. Two large antlers, presumably for impaling its foes, towered over her.

The next thing she knew, Hana was screaming full force down the mountain after the badgermole as a giant saber-tooth mooselion chased after her.

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><p>It was morning, and Shijin found himself leaning against an abandoned food stand, with the canopy over the stand covering him from the rain. The Airbender noticed that the girl had still not returned, so he assumed that she had finally given up and left.<p>

The town seemed a lot more filled than it did the night before. Residents from the local motel had come out to barter with clerks at the trinket shops, and despite the rain, food stand owners were happily serving their cooked food. It was then that Shijin realized again that he was completely out of money after having been robbed by a pickpocket.

"Time to make some money," Shijin rubbed his forehead and eyes, slapped his cheeks, and headed over to a few outdoor tables under the cover of a wooden roof. There, several men were enjoying their mornings with a handful of Pai Sho games. Their gambles were smaller than the ones that Shijin had seen in Omashu. None of them ever exceeded a silver coin, and winners never took more than half of the winnings.

But money was money, and Shijin waited his turn at the tables. Like usual, he threw down his staff as substitute for his lack of coins, and once the men had confirmed with trinket shop owners that his glider was real, Shijin was allowed to play.

They were easy games for Shijin, who quickly racked up enough copper coins to exchange for a few silver coins. The men who were playing realized that they were dealing with more than just a casual Pai Sho player, and they left the table to Shijin, who continued to offer his staff to anyone who was willing to challenge him.

It was at this time that an older gentleman dressed in traditional Airbender attire walked over to Shijin's table. The two bowed to each other, and Shijin's newest opponent spoke.

"May I have this game?" said the Airbender. A bag of Pai Sho tiles was strapped to his waist. "It is good to see a fellow monk in the distant realms of the world."

Shijin merely gestured toward the empty chair on the opposite side of the table. The monk sat down and fished around his bag for the pieces that he was going to play. "Guests have the first move," Shijin said, and moved a hand into his bag of tiles as well.

"From the Southern Air Temple," the Airbender pulled a piece from his hand and kept it hidden in his fist. "The host is allowed first move. Are rules different at the other temples? I may appear old, but this is my first pilgrimage to the other temples, believe it or not."

"No," Shijin replied. "You get used to the rules in the Earth Kingdom rings after a while."

"I haven't heard of a monk who participates often with the Earth Kingdom commoners, let alone copy their rules and strategies," replied the Airbender, who laid a hand on his chin. "I always found the Kingdom's Pai Sho players to be lacking in strategy."

"How so?" Shijin asked. It was the first time he was genuinely curious about what the monk had to say.

"Pai Sho is a game of movement," the old man answered. It appeared when he was given a chance to speak his mind, the words spewed from his mouth like a geyser. "It's a game of ebbs and flows, which is why the Nomad's Path has been the staple opening in Pai Sho in the last hundred years. The Earth Kingdom strategy, most typically known as the Badgermole's Defense, is too rigid and open to vulnerabilities."

"Those who are more versed in the style would argue differently," Shijin countered, pulling a tile out of his bag. The wooden tile was inscribed with the face of a badgermole in the middle. Shijin smiled and flipped the coin in the air. "Would you like me to show you?"

"The Badgermole's Defense has inherent disadvantages against the Nomad's Path. You, as an Airbender trained at the temples, should know this well." the old monk frowned, shaking his head as if he was disappointed that his opponent today wouldn't be very good. "Why would anyone considering using it as an opening?"

"Like I said," Shijin tapped the board and beckoned his opponent to start. "Maybe I can open your eyes."

"Very well," his opponent nodded, and placed the first tile on the board. It was a Sky Bison tile, and it was placed in the small triangle at the top left corner of the board. "But don't say that I didn't warn you that the result was inevitable."

Shijin's response was instantaneous as ever. He slapped his Badgermole tile in the middle of board. His opponent sighed, before placing another Sky Bison tile on the other corner of the board. Shijin responded with a Chrysanthemum tile, placing it in front of the first Sky Bison.

"A common response to the Nomad's Path," his opponent nodded. "Is to disable one of the Sky Bison tiles by placing a Chrysanthemum tile at the exit. However, most Air Nomads are aware of this, and can win easily with one movable Bison tile on the field. Of course, the other Bison tile is not disabled forever once I've captured that tile."

The Airbender pushed his sky bison tile forward five spaces onto the middle of the board.

"You see, that's the problem with all of you," Shijin placed a white lotus tile at the bottom left corner of the board, where the smaller triangle attached itself to the center platform. "You rely too much on the Sky Bison to do everything for you."

"I don't think that's a problem," the monk calmly responded. "The Sky Bison is arguably the most flexible piece in the entire game. It moves slower than the wheel and white dragon, true, but those pieces are much too rigid. On the other hand, what can you do with the Badgermole's Defense? You're confined to defending your own tiles without ever being able to catch a single flower."

The monk placed a wheel adjacent to the Chrysanthemum tile, preparing to capture the tile next turn.

"And that's where you're wrong," Shijin responded as quickly as ever. He moved his Badgermole diagonally to his Chrysanthemum tile. "I'd argue that the Badgermole's Defense can be just as mobile. It's just no one ever deploys correctly."

"If you're so intent on overturning what Air Nomads have dominated for years," the Airbender raised an eyebrow at Shijin's move, slightly impressed but nonetheless unsurprised by what he perceived to be a pointless move. "Then why don't you go teach it? Teach students your false beliefs and see how they fail against generations of proven Pai Sho strategy?"

It was almost on cue, but a high pitched scream could be heard from the top of the mountain. Shijin heard it, and in an instant, the owner of the scream registered in his head. The yell echoed throughout the small village, and its denizens looked at the mountain tops with alarm.

"That idiot," Shijin whispered. "Did she actually go and try to tame one? What kind of girl…"

"It's your move," his opponent motioned to a frozen Shijin as he placed a white lotus tile on his side of the board. "I wonder who is making such a racket this early in the morning."

"I forfeit," Shijin declared suddenly, grabbing his glider and making his way towards the mountain. "You'll hear from me again. I guarantee it!"

The monk wanted to form a response, but by then Shijin was already out of earshot.

Shijin popped open the wings of his glider and threw it into the air. The glider arced in a circle before spiraling back towards him. As it got close, Shijin twirled and placed his feet on the staff, balanced himself, and used his Airbending to propel himself towards the mountain top. The monk behind him stood, dumbfounded and mouth agape, finally realizing the identity of the Airbender he had just played.

The Airbender mouthed a few words, but no one listened to him.

It was easy to just follow the screams. Shijin found her running frantically down the rocky road, a giant saber-tooth mooselion close behind her. When Shijin dived in closer to see what had happened, it appeared that the girl was following what appeared to be a baby sized badgermole. The mooselion roared and took a bite at the girl, but she was lucky enough to hop over a giant rock and avoid the animal for now.

"Doesn't she know," Shijin talked to himself. "That badgermoles and mooselions never get along? What in spirits is she doing?"

"Hey! Girl!" Shijin swerved down and yelled at her over the sound of rain and wind. He leaned back and slowed down his glider enough that he and the girl were travelling at the same speeds. The mooselion, noticing him now, roared more aggressively as it prepared its next attack. "Over here!"

Hana looked up, her face an expression of shock and relief. "You!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "Why are you here?"

"That's my question," Shijin snarled, and held out his hand. "Come on. Grab my hand."

"I can't," Hana hopped over another rock, her hands not reaching for Shijin's but for the body of the badgermole just outside of her range. "I have to show you this badgermole first. Then you'll teach me Pai Sho right?"

"Forget about that," Shijin wanted to smack his forehead, but almost lost control of his glider in the process. "What good is learning Pai Sho if you're in a mooselion's stomach? Now hurry up! It's going to catch you if you don't grab my hand now."

The mooselion was indeed close and charged with renewed ferocity. It snapped open its jaws, and Shijin was forced to intervene. He twirled his arms and shoved a current of air in the beast's face. The mooselion skidded back, but bore the brunt of the attack with ease. It reoriented itself, caught sight of the Airbender that had attacked him, and charged again.

"I realized something," Hana yelled when Shijin returned to her side, holding out his hand for her. Hana simply shook her head and turned back to the fleeing badgermole. "I realized something when you sent me on this stupid badgermole hunting trip."

"You can tell me after we get away from that thing," Shijin was almost angry. Did this girl want to get chased down and killed? He reached out with his hand once more, only to see Hana ignore it again. "Now hurry up and take my hand!"

"I'm nothing," Hana focused her gaze on the badgermole. It was within her reach now. Her fingers could feel the soft fur on the badgermole's back. Just a little bit closer. "I realized that there's nothing I've done my entire life. If you asked me now, who am I? What are my goals? What are my dreams? I don't have an answer to any of them."

"I don't want to be the same Hana anymore," both of her hands were stretched towards the badgermole now. Shijin turned frantically at the mooselion, who was gaining speed as they got closer and closer to the foot of the mountain. "I don't want to be someone who never does anything her entire life, who withers away and dies without having achieved anything."

"Airbender," Hana called after Shijin, who turned away from the mooselion to look at this girl, both arms stretched towards a wild frantic badgermole. "You said if I tame a badgermole I can learn Pai Sho from you right? I can't tame it as I am now, but will you give me a chance if I can just catch him?"

The Airbender didn't say a word, but he pulled back his hand and watched.

The mooselion stretched open its mouth.

She flung out her hands, her eyes burning, and she yelled as every fiber of her being concentrated on the tips of her fingers.

The mooselion stumbled over a pile of rocks made slippery from the rain. It fell over on its side and roared after Hana, who had already blocked out every sound but the soft tapping of the badgermole's feet on the rocky road. She breathed heavily, ignoring the hunger in her stomach, pressing down the pain screaming from her feet, blocking out the sight of anything that wasn't a hairy critter sprinting as fast as it could.

"Now!" Hana screamed.

Shijin's eyes widened.

The badgermole leapt.

She clenched her hands.

The sun came out. It burst through the clouds, illuminating the sky and earth with a majestic light. The shadow beneath the clouds peeled away in fright. Shijin threw his sleeve over his eyes and looked away. From below, he could hear a squeal and the sound of someone tumbling down the slope.

When he looked back, the sun revealed a sparkling girl, lying dead tired near the base of the mountain.

A badgermole was hugged tightly to her chest, and she held onto it as if her life depended upon it.

It took a few more moments for Shijin to realize that her life did depend upon it.

_To be continued..._


	3. Lesson Three

**Lesson Three: Basics**

* * *

><p>A few hundred years before the Fire Nation burned half of it away, the Earth Kingdom was an agrarian paradise. There were few who wished to live confined in the walls of a city, but countless were forced and suppressed by the rule of barbarian warlords unchecked by the 46th Earth King, Mei Yong. It was the countryside they longed for, where freedom meant a life filled with lavishness and adventure. There were always dangers of living outside the protection of the warlords, yes, but many would take their chances.<p>

The long roads connecting city to city were lined with an abundance of terraced fields and meadows, a summer mixture of a beautiful blue and green blur and a winding auburn brushstroke in between. In the fall and the winter, the green turned a bright orange, and the blue turned crystal clear and occasionally powdery white. Farther off the road were luxurious forests and tall mountains, braved by only a few, and bested by even fewer.

During the day, the fields were a cacophony of activity, the neighing of ostrich horses and padded sound of hundreds of farmers stepping on and off the road. The night was more tranquil, and one could hear the soft chirping of blue jays, marvel at the soft glow of fluttering fireflies, and feel the warmth of roadside campfires.

It was on this road that three out of place companions walked side by side. One was dressed in orange monk robes, his hands folded in his sleeves, and an Airbending glider strapped to his back. The second was a small creature curiously sniffing the ground, pleased at the fresh smell of fallen pollen that had blown in from the strong winds. The third was a girl in a dirty kimono a head shorter than the Airbender she trailed behind, and she was gazing at a pair of wooden pieces in her right palm.

"I was wondering, Shijin," Hana rolled the two tiles in between her fingers. It was a trick that she had seen from a performer on the road. She had gotten quite adept at it. In her other hand was Shijin's Pai Sho bag, filled with all of his tiles and a rolled up makeshift paper board. "Why are there only seven tiles in Pai Sho?"

"You want to memorize more?" the Airbender gave an incredulous look to the girl behind him, but he did place a finger to his chin as if he remembered something. "Now that you mention it though, I have heard of a few Water Tribe players who added a tile or two in the Water Tribe circles. The tiles themselves are favored towards Water Tribe players, so nobody really bothers using them in competitive play, but I could have you memorize those if you really wanted to."

"No," Hana pouted, flipping the tiles right side up. It was a Badgermole and a Sky Bison tile. "Just curious. Why are there only seven tiles? That seems so few."

"Who knows?" Shijin shrugged. "Seven in the ancient tongue is pronounced _qi_, which I guess has the same pronunciation as the word for board game, or _qi_. Maybe it has something to do with that."

"That's what it's supposed to mean?" Hana creased her forehead. "I mean, I guess it makes sense, but are all Airbenders that lame?"

"That's only what I was told," Shijin replied. "Legend says that Pai Sho was invented by a group of wandering Air Nomads who had too much time on their hands. It wouldn't be shocking to find that they decided to humor themselves when they made up the game."

"Do you believe that's how the game started?" Hana asked.

"Who knows?" Shijin said again, raising his hands in question. "It makes sense sometimes, but I don't think too much about it. I just play the game. Now could you please stop asking trivial questions and get back to memorizing the tiles? We're going to be in town soon."

They had taken a trail that led them northward. Hana didn't ask where her new teacher was going, but if she had, Shijin wouldn't have had a good answer anyway. As they walked, Hana rummaged through Shijin's Pai Sho collection, rolling different pieces around her hand, reciting their names as she walked.

Of course, they weren't alone. The road was a common path taken by farmers. All along the road, they wore their short cotton pants, bamboo straw hats, and leather gloves. Some of them walked to and from the field, buckets filled with water or wheat balanced on their sweaty backs. Others stood knee deep in water, pulling out weeds and loading new crops onto their ostrich horses.

"Sky Bison," Hana pointed at the tile with an orange arrow inside an oval. She turned to the next tile; a flower that Shijin had told her grew quite commonly in the Fire Nation. "Fire Lily."

Memorizing the name of the tiles was easy enough. Hana had seen them before in Omashu after all. What was a little more difficult for her was remembering how the pieces moved, what special properties they held, some of their counterparts. Shijin had only gone through a rough explanation once and hadn't bothered to repeat the lecture, much to Hana's chagrin.

"The Fire Lily is a flower tile, so once it's placed it is not allowed to move," Hana turned her attention to the Sky Bison. "The Sky Bison tile needs to be placed at one of the corners of the board before it can be used. After it is placed, the bison is allowed to move six spaces in any direction, turning in any direction it wants so long as it moves a maximum of six times."

"What stops the Sky Bison?" Shijin called over his shoulder.

"A Chrysanthemum tile, another flower tile," Hana answered, and pulled out a tile with a flower with countless petals attached to its stem. "A Sky Bison can't move so long as a Chrysanthemum tile is placed next to it. Why is that?"

"The Air Nomads learned a long time ago that the reason their temples were covered with chrysanthemum flowers was because the flying bison would often care and nurture the things," Shijin explained. "The animals are really attracted to the scent of the flower, but they refuse to eat anything with chrysanthemum in it. This is probably just a reference to that."

As they walked, there were also occasionally men draped in light green and beige robes standing quiet and still along the road, swords hanging from their waists. Each of them had their hair tied up in a ponytail, which gave Hana a slight sense of amusement. They bore serious looks, scanning the road and giving a narrowed glare to suspicious passing travelers. When they were around, Shijin always slowed down, and whispered fiercely for Hana to stay close.

"Don't say a word, don't make eye contact, and stay close to me," Shijin would hiss at her. "Put the tiles away for now."

"Who are they?" Hana pointed her face toward the floor. She quickly wrapped the Pai Sho tiles, stuffed them in her pockets, and tapped her foot twice to signal the blind creature behind her to keep up with her.

"Wu Jian," Shijin's fingers twitched around his staff. "Trained mercenaries that work for the warlords. They're probably just here to watch the roads, but you can never be too sure. From the looks of these guys, they probably work for Chin."

"The Conqueror?"

"That's the one."

The three of them walked quietly then, and Hana recited the tiles in her head until the silhouettes of the mercenaries were far behind them. It was only then when Shijin walked a little faster and allowed Hana to pull out his tiles. By then, the morning was already over, and the outlines of short but sturdy buildings could be seen on the near horizon.

They arrived just as the sun passed its midway point in the sky. Like most settlements in the Earth Kingdom, the town was just two rows of buildings set on each side of the road. Food cart and trinket owners set up shop outside their homes, and the town gave off the faint smell of nicely cooked meat and fresh produce. Today, there were no clouds, and it appeared that heat of the summer was finally settling in.

Shijin used a few of his coins to buy a small meal for Hana and her new pet. It was a simple treat, fresh corn and rice from the fields along with an assortment of steamed vegetables. Hana offered some food to the badgermole, which she had come to call Kupo. She dug in herself, and after a moment, looked back at her teacher, cheeks red with embarrassment.

"Shijin," Hana twiddled her thumbs. "Is it okay if we have some meat?"

"Meat's expensive, usually a silver coin a piece. I bought everything here with only a few copper coins," Shijin frowned, shaking an almost empty pouch of coins in his hand. From what she could hear, Hana could tell that there were no more than three more coins left. "We don't have the luxury of buying any, especially at the more remote villages, where the meat is even pricier."

"If you want to buy meat though," Shijin pointed at the bag of Pai Sho tiles and the makeshift paper board inside. "This might be a good opportunity for you to see how much you've learned."

"Go ahead and quiz me then," Hana grinned, folding her arms and holding her head high. "I've memorized all of the tiles anyway, so I'll pass any test that you can throw at me."

"Great," Shijin pointed at the floor next to the nearest vendor that sold meat. "Set up my board over there, and play some Pai Sho. You can use one of my silver coins to bet with. If you can make enough money from gambling, then I'll let you buy some meat."

Hana's look could only be described as flabbergasted. Her jaw dropped open as she too pointed at the floor next to the food stand. The owner of the street shop eyed them curiously, quite amused.

"You want me to play? Right now?" Hana suddenly tensed up, her heart was racing with a feeling she couldn't describe well. "I mean, I've barely memorized the tiles, and you haven't even taught me any strategies."

"Didn't I tell you already?" Shijin tapped Hana's on her head before pointing a finger at her chest. "Pai Sho is a game of expression, culture, and an inner look at the self. Traditionally, I would've been forced to spend the entire afternoon teaching you strategies and having you memorize them over and over again, but that would just be a waste of both of our times. I want you to try it out on your own first."

"So you're just going to throw me against of bunch of people who all know how to play the game more than I do?" Hana protested. "How is this going to help me learn?"

"You don't know that," Shijin countered. "There are a lot of players who know just as much as you do right now; what the tiles are, how they move. Some of them also haven't properly memorized the special properties of each tile, so they can't take advantage of the opportunities they create unknowingly."

"And where will you be during all this?" Hana grumbled. It seemed she wasn't getting away from playing the game after all. "You're going to be behind me at least helping me out aren't you?"

"I came to this town because there's someone I want to see before we set off to the other parts of the Kingdom," Shijin shook his head. If he was disappointed at not being able to watch the first game of Pai Sho his student was about to play, he didn't show it. "Besides, it wouldn't be you playing Pai Sho if I was around."

"And what happens if I lose all of your money?" Hana tried a last attempt at reasoning with the Airbender, but knew from the Airbender's emotionless expression that it was hopeless.

"Who knows?" Shijin shrugged, and turned his back to Hana. He gave a nonchalant wave and walked off to the far end of the town. "I won't be gone for long, so I don't expect you to waste all of that silver coin before I come back. Just make sure you bet in small quantities. Just remember that ten copper coins is a single silver coin. Since this is your first time, you probably shouldn't be tossing in any more than five copper coins into the pot."

Hana sighed and turned to the badgermole, who gazed curiously back at her. "You don't think you could help me with a strategy or two can you?" Hana asked. The creature cocked its head in confusion, and Hana threw up her hands in defeat. "I guess I might as well set everything up."

She set down the board, making sure that she turned the board so that none of the triangles on the corner of the board were facing her. She set an unmarked tile at four points on the paper to ensure that the board didn't blow away with the wind. Afterwards, she divided the number of tiles in Shijin's bag in two. There were enough tiles in Shujin's bag to suit two people.

"It's common courtesy when you equip your own set to have enough tiles for two people," Shijin had explained. "You can't expect others to always have their own set on hand."

She then proceeded to ask the vendor for an exchange of ten copper coins for her one silver. After she had done so, she tossed five of the copper coins onto the middle of the paper board and waited.

Her first opponent came less than a minute later. He was a farmer, and from the look of his empty buckets, he must have just sold his crop to the market for the day. It was out of the corner of his eye that he noticed the Pai Sho board, and he was quick to wander over.

"You don't often see a girl gambling with Pai Sho. In fact I've never seen it before," the farmer scratched his head, but fished around his pockets for his earnings. "But I can't pass by a game when it's right here in front of me."

Hana's heart beat as quickly as the flapping of a butterfly's wings. The farmer sat down cross legged on the other side of the board and graciously accepted his share of the tiles. He looked over the wooden pieces and nodded, his eyes wide with surprise. "You don't see wooden tiles that often anymore," the farmer commented in astonishment. "This is a nice design too."

"G-guest gets first move," Hana stumbled, extending a shaking hand over the board. "You may begin when you are ready."

"Then," the farmer happily picked through the tiles for the right piece that he wanted. "Don't mind me then."

He laid down his first piece.

Shijin pushed open the door to the house. As he had suspected, it was unlocked.

When he entered, he was greeted by a room abundant with flora. Native Earth Kingdom flowers from the panda lily to the jasmine flower were pushed against the sides of the room, portraits of ancestors hung on the walls. In the middle were three unique flowers placed in three separate pots on a dusty wooden table. A rare blossoming fire lily sat directly to Shijin's right, a flourishing and recently watered white lotus flower in the middle, and a dead chrysanthemum to his left.

"So he finally passed away didn't he?" Shijin muttered, staring at the dead flower on the table. He stroked the petals. Unsurprisingly, the petal he touched withered and broke off, falling into the dry pot. "Well, that's not surprising. He had been sick for quite some time."

"To what do I owe the presence of someone like you?" said a voice from the room directly across the table. A woman, who appeared much older than the monk Shijin had encountered the other day, walked into the room. She was limping, supported by a cane. "But to answer your question, Gao passed on earlier this year after you left. Poor thing. By the end of it he wouldn't even sniff the chrysanthemums I had grown for him. He was too ill."

"Do you want me to brew some tea?" Shijin offered politely.

"I'm a little too old for tea," the woman waved him off. "I'd rather spend my good days sleeping in, and tea is what keeps me from doing so."

They stood in silence. Pleasantries were over, and without them, the two had very little that they really wanted to say.

"What are you doing here," the woman finally sighed and looked up with sorrowful eyes.

"Thought I'd stop by and say that this is a final goodbye," Shijin said. "I probably won't be coming back here again. Now that Gao is gone, there's no real need for me to come back here."

"It is an appropriate farewell. Probably more appropriate now than never," the woman shrugged. She had been expecting this for some time. "The Wu Jian are all over here now. It won't be long before the warlords living in Omashu bow to the Conqueror. Where are you headed?"

"Who knows?" Shijin replied. He had been using that phrase a lot today. "Maybe I'll try my luck up north. The rest of the nomads will probably be migrating south, so I should be fine."

"Are you going alone?" said the woman. "The north is different from the southern Earth Kingdom. You might want to pack yourself a native. I hear the towns up there get pretty ugly."

"I have a noisy companion," Shijin frowned at the mere thought of it. "She's outside playing some Pai Sho at the moment. She's a native alright, but she's pretty useless as far as the Earth Kingdom is concerned."

"A noisy companion," chuckled the woman. For a person her age, her laugh was rich and deep. "She must be something if she managed to grab your attention. You always said that you would have preferred living out the rest of your exile alone."

"It's not what you think," Shijin put up his hands in defense. He creased his brow in frustration and irritation at the mere thought of Hana being a suitable companion. "I was more or less coerced into teaching Pai Sho to her. I had no choice in the matter."

"And yet you're still with her," said the woman, who nodded to herself as if she understood everything. "Well, is that all you came here to say?"

"Yeah," Shijin turned his back to the old lady and prepared to leave. "Take care of yourself now."

"Pay some respects to my husband on your way out. Spirits knows that he never stopped talking about you ever since he picked you up that cold rainy night," the old lady nodded her head and waved before heading up the stairs. Her raspy voiced echoed in the room. "I wish you a safe journey. _Yi lu ping an_."

Shijin stepped outside and breathed deeply. Next to the door, framed on a window was the painting of an elderly man standing next to a large bison. He was smiling, his arms wrapped around the bison in an affectionate hug. The painter had drawn the bison with eyes that showed no emotion, but Shijin knew that it was happy, right until the very end. Incense was burning from a tiny pot, flakes of burnt pieces of paper hanging over the sides. The old woman must have recently relit the memorial. Shijin gave a quick bow.

"Thank you for everything old man," Shijin whispered.

He stepped away from the window and turned back to the market, which had grown busier in the short time that he had been away. Farmers from the road flooded into the town with some of their freshest foods in tow. Merchants and buyers shouted and waved at farmers whom they recognized, and brought out their tipping scales to begin exchanging their goods.

"I wonder how she's doing now," the Airbender said to himself. He fumbled with his bag of coins in the moment. He was down to two. "Well, I can always just assume that she lost everything and plan accordingly."

He walked over the vendor where had left Hana to her own devices. As he approached, he snuck around the meat stand and hung around underneath an overhang that blocked out the afternoon sun. From there, he watched Hana from behind, who bent over the board, pointing at each tile and moving her finger to possible places for that tile to move.

"You never do that," Shijin made a note to tell her that later. "You never want your opponent knowing which piece you're considering to move."

Her opponent was unsurprisingly a farmer, one who had just sold his crops and was on his way home. It would've been a good catch for Shijin, who could have gambled more money off the joy that the farmer was feeling from selling his merchandise. But for Hana, who still had a long way to go, nothing was more dangerous than a farmer who might have pressured her to throw more of her money onto the board.

Hana's set up was a mess, and Shijin wanted to gag at the very sight of how she had placed her tiles. She had set way too many flower tiles, and they were awkwardly scattered throughout the board, some of them even on her opponent's side for no reason. As a result, she had too few non-flower tiles that could capture pieces. Her Sky Bison had yet to move out of its corner of the board, and it must have been at least five turns already since she had placed it.

Her opponent wasn't much better, but that was no excuse. Hana looked into her bag, and flipped two tiles out, a Badgermole and a Wheel tile, and she contemplated which ones she wanted to place on the board.

"You need a Wheel with that kind of set up," Shijin rubbed his temples with his two hands as he watched helplessly. "The Badgermole can only move one space in each direction unless you have a flower tile in your line of sight, in which you are able to directly jump to that tile. Your flowers are too scattered, so it's useless to have one."

"I think I'll place this tile down," Hana's shaking hands slapped a Badgermole tile on the board, just as Shijin's shaking hands slapped his forehead. She looked up, appeared satisfied with her play and turned to the badgermole sitting besides her. She rubbed its face. "I've played you on the field Kupo."

_That's your reason for putting down the tile?_

Shijin pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes closing for a moment. He wanted to stop watching and just run away. If anyone with an iota of experience in Pai Sho knew that he had been teaching this girl, he would become known as the one Air Nomad who would have failed to produce a fine Pai Sho player. Perhaps it was a little early to be thinking of such things, but Shijin couldn't block the thought from his mind.

Yet, even though Hana slowly buckled underneath her poor deployment and lack of movable pieces, Shijin could tell that she had at least remembered everything that he had taught her. Her play was indeed short sighted, too focused on defense, passive. Had she known how to properly position her tiles and place her Badgermole, then perhaps she could have pulled off an upset.

To many other Pai Sho teachers, such plays would have required admonishment. To Shijin, it showed she was learning, experimenting with pieces that she had never played with before, and defending her tiles because she still needed to figure out how to properly utilize them. She even caught the farmer off guard a few times, moving the Sky Bison piece that she had forgotten about outside of the corner of the board and capturing a Wheel tile that had moved too close.

But the game's outcome was inevitable, and a few turns later, Hana was caught unaware that her opponent had captured her White Lotus tile with a Sky Bison tile of his own, effectively ending the game. The farmer smiled at her, took the five copper pieces from the side of the board, and bid her farewell.

From his perspective, Shijin couldn't see Hana's reaction to the game. He pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning on, unfolded his arms, and walked up to his student. He stood beside her, looking at the tiles that she had placed on the board.

Then, a drop of water hit the paper board, followed by another, and Shijin noticed that Hana was rapidly wiping drops of tears from her eyes with her dirty sleeves. The Air Nomad didn't know how exactly to respond, so he just cleaned up the tiles on the floor and rolled up the makeshift board so it wasn't soaked by Hana's sobs.

"I thought," Hana sniffed. "That it would be cool if I won my first game of Pai Sho."

"Winning would be a miracle given how little you know right now," Shijin explained. "I was surprised to find that you had stayed in your first game for so long."

"I know," the girl stood up and shook her head rapidly to shake herself up. "But losing doesn't feel very good."

"Your opponent was decent, and he obviously knew more than you did," Shijin reasoned. Hana's frown lessened with the statement. "Don't get too ahead of yourself. You're going to feel that way a lot more times before you win. Now hurry it up. Let's get a move on. I want to head as north as possible before we make camp."

"It would've been good if you had helped me a bit if you were just going to stand there," Hana pouted. When Shijin didn't respond, she let out a big exhale. "Yes, yes, I get it. You wanted me to play by myself. Who were you visiting anyway?"

"Just a family friend," Shijin shrugged, before pointing at the far end of town. "Wait for me there. I have some business to finish up, so just wait a minute or two for me."

Hana nodded and walked off, her badgermole friend trailing closely behind her.

"Maybe we'll win next time right, Kupo?" she laughed as they walked away. The badgermole made a noise, and Shijin wasn't sure if it was merely burping or acknowledging its name. "Maybe next time I'll play you later in the game. I should've moved that Sky Bison earlier…"

The monk now turned to the street vendor, who had been watching the entire time. He smiled at the Airbender and bowed slightly.

"A Pai Sho teacher who leaves his student unattended," the vendor mused. "Must have enormous faith in his student, am I not right?"

Shijin raised an eyebrow at the store owner. He pulled his pouch of coins out from his pocket. He then threw his last two remaining silver coins into the man's pot and fetched the best two pieces of barbequed fox antelope ribs from the stand.

Shijin turned to face the shop owner again and shrugged.

"Who knows?"

_To be continued…_


	4. Lesson Four

**Lesson Four: Rules**

* * *

><p>They headed north until they reached the <em>Wei Lin Jiang<em>, a river known for its abundance of fish. All along the wide muddy stream were sampans, flat bottomed boats that sat quietly all day and night. There were fishing nets and rods leaning over the sides of the boats, tied down by rope. The fishermen could often be seen lying against the small cabins fixed on their small ships, an oar lying in their arms and a smoking pipe between their teeth. White and grey feathered birds were perched over the boats, eyeing the fish that filled the buckets on the crafts.

The river ran for miles until it met the ocean farther to the west. When they had first caught sight of the sea, Shijin had noticed that Hana had spent that early morning at the beach. She had stood idly along the coast, the water splashing against her bare feet, her sandals in her fingers, her amber eyes staring off beyond the vast expanse of crimson skies and foaming waters. Kupo was standing beside her, rubbing his soft fur against her ankles. Her lips were parted, but no words were ushered from her mouth. She merely stared at the rising sun for a long time before returning to camp.

The source of the stream lied in the east, where it was divided into two tributaries that small towns surrounded. In the middle of the stream was a small island, where a red shrine was built in honor of the spirits. When Hana had eyed the monument, she could make out the outlines of a mysterious golden fish statue curled around a fishing rod sitting in the center of the relic.

"Shijin," Hana said when she saw these fishermen for the first time. One of them yelled excitedly over a large catch that had fallen unknowingly into his nets. He wielded the large fish over his head, and nearby fishermen cheered in response. "I've never seen a fisherman take his food to sell at the markets. Do they have some special place where they sell fish around here?"

"No," Shijin explained. "Most of these fishermen will live and stay on their boats almost their entire lives. They rarely even leave their boats to restock on supplies. There are many merchants along the river who specialize in selling their things to fishermen."

"What?" Hana exclaimed, rapidly switching her attention back and forth between Shijin's calm expression and the fired up fisherman, who immediately threw the fish into a pot and climbed into his cabin. He returned with a knife and charcoal, and he began skewering the fish. "All their lives on those little boats? How do they deal with that?"

"This is the Earth Kingdom," Shijin turned to the river. "This is how the people of the Earth Kingdom live. Whatever the hardships, whatever the burdens, the people of the Earth Kingdom are destined to bare it all their lives. It is a way of life, and it is what makes the Earth Kingdom strong and eternal."

"You seem to know a lot," Hana flipped a few tiles in her hands. "About the Earth Kingdom I mean."

"One tends to know the places he's traversed for the last few years," said the Airbender. "And it's customary for most monks to journey across the Earth Kingdom during their pilgrimages to the other temples. Of course you won't see many nomads on this road."

"Why not?" Hana asked, realizing for the first time that Shijin was the only Air Nomad that she had seen since she left Omashu.

"Because we're travelling north," Shijin noted, pointing far off into the distant mountains that appeared only as tiny bumps to his eyes. "The Northern Air Temple is much too far to get a glimpse of any of the nomads who live there, and most monks who embark on a journey from there tend to turn southeast toward Ba Sing Se. The monks call it the _wen hua zhong xing_, or the cultural center, of the kingdom. So few will ever turn west and cross into this part of the kingdom."

"I'd like to see that city one day," Hana said dreamily. She had been told stories of Ba Sing Se many times. It was a city filled with beauty, the divine, where the spirits converged to endow the kingdom with all of their charms and blessings. "Are we ever going to see it?"

"Ba Sing Se runs a few famous Pai Sho rings and tournaments in the winter time, and I haven't been to the city in a while" Shijin noted. "Perhaps if you've learned enough by the time the first snowflake falls, I'll consider taking you there."

"Then it's a deal," Hana grinned and pulled out a few tiles and began reciting their movements aloud. "Wheel, moves forwards, backwards, left, and right…"

It had become a routine for the two of them to play a few games each morning and each night. If they were on the road, Hana spent her time trying to remember the critiques that Shijin had offered her after each game, piecing together the games that they played the morning of. When they were in town, Shijin would leave for the Pai Sho circles, bringing back a few silver pieces, while Hana sat next to shop vendors on the streets asking for games with passerby strangers. She never won, and Shijin's winnings were the only thing that kept the two from starving.

"Why do you keep sending me out there when you know I'm just going to lose?" Hana complained once, returning a lighter bag of coins with a red face. "Can you at least give me some strategies now? If not because I want to get better, then because I don't want to always be losing us money. I even saw a bookstore today selling a few Pai Sho scrolls. Can't we get one of them?"

Shijin hadn't looked back at her. He stowed the sack of coins into his pockets and motioned for Hana to follow. The girl reluctantly followed behind him as they left that town, and it wasn't until the town's noisy and crowded atmosphere was behind them that Shijin began talking.

"Pai Sho is unique in the fact that it's a game that's been relatively figured out but is still a game of infinite possibilities," Shijin explained. "Most masters you run across these days will know most of the famous openings, but are still often taken aback by moves played in the seventh to eighth round of deployment. Do you know why that is?"

"No," Hana sighed and, as she usually did when Shijin was about to say something wise, puffed her cheeks.

"It's because unlike most standard games where pieces are premade and setup," Shijin continued. "Pai Sho is a game where deployment is just as important as moving your tiles. There are seven different tiles in Pai Sho and two hundred fifty six spaces to place those tiles. For all intents and purposes, there are too many different variations of an opening to count in a sane span of time."

"The reason we have openings, however," Shijin explained, right as Hana opened her mouth to interrupt. "Is because there are bound to be certain deployments that are better than others. People who have become well trained in these openings can, as a result, take advantage of their superior openings and win games handily."

"You, on the other hand," the Airbender said. "Are much too inexperienced to even start understanding how you're deploying tiles, why tiles are deployed as they are, and what to do to make best of your tiles. You barely even understand the basic understanding of trading pieces or defending objectives. For now, just stick to the critiques I've been offering you. They're more helpful than any strategies I can offer you."

Those critiques came in a variety of fashions. That was a bad decision to exchange tiles here. You shouldn't have backed away from this flower. Why did you let me control the board so easily? On one hand, Hana was quick to recognize her mistakes, but on the other, she was completely clueless as how to exactly fix it.

"Experiment," was Shijin's response when Hana brought the issue up. "The key to becoming a great Pai Sho player is to be aware of every possibility that a player can make. The only way to do that is to test out every different way to use the tiles yourself."

A few days later, they arrived at one of the larger settlements in the north. It sat at the source of the river they had been walking along, surrounded by short earth walls. Around its perimeter were Wu Jian mercenaries, keeping a watchful eye on the farmers walking to and fro from their city. When Hana looked to the east, she spotted a few men on a hill, standing beside their ostrich horses as they spotted the local town. These men, like the Wu Jian, dressed in robes different from the casual farmer. Their clothes, however, were of a darker green hue. A pair of flags was strapped to their steeds.

"They ride with the Earth King's banner," Shijin said when Hana pointed them out. "How dangerous for them for them to be riding this deep into Chin's lands."

"Who are they?" Hana asked.

"Imperial scouts," Shijin explained. The men took another look at the town, before hopping on their horses and leaving. Their flags waved in the wind, and a few hecklers could be heard in the distance. "Messengers and spies of the 46th Earth King. They wear the flags to show the commoners around here that the Earth King still cares about this part of the kingdom. The cold hard truth is that he doesn't. The King would much rather focus on Omashu, where he at least retains a small bit of control."

The riders rode off towards the falling sun and the mountains, whose peaks formed the back of winding snake. Their faces were hidden by dark mushroom shaped hats. Some of Chin's mercenaries pursued them, arrows in hand, rushing across wet farming fields, screaming at them at the top of their lungs.

"Will Chin be stopped?" Hana thoughts meandered back to her former home, where some of her acquaintances must have still been tending to men.

"Unless Kyoshi acts, probably not," Shijini folded his hands behind his head. "The Earth King doesn't have enough of a standing army to even sally forth beyond Ba Sing Se's walls. The nomads stay out of it because they don't care so long as they get to keep their precious pilgrimages to other temples. The Water Tribe sends healers before they realize they're not helping anyone, and of course the Fire Nation is waiting to see who comes out on top before they throw their pieces in."

"And what about you?" Hana looked up at the Airbender, whose eyes were rested on the riders in the distance. "What do you want?"

Shijin was silent as he contemplated the question. It was one of the few times Shijin didn't give a rapid fire answer. They approached the gates to the settlement, and the guards opened the doors to allow them to pass. Inside, scattered mercenaries and soldiers stood guard at every building and stand. There were no children on the streets, and those doing business had noticeably shifty eyes, moving their eyes back and forth between their locked chests and customers.

At the far end of the town, towering above the walls was a three storied structured. This building hosted the most guards, and it looked newer than all of the rundown and dirty buildings below it. Its walls were clean, its roof lined with glittering jewels and well-designed animal sculptures. A banner was hung at the front of the building, with the words _zheng fu gong shi_, government office, spelled across it. Shijin gave this particular building an odd eye, before turning a corner and heading to what appeared to be an inn.

"As long as I have Pai Sho," Shijin answered finally. "I don't care who's in power."

"This game is special to you," Hana moved her fingers over Shijin's tiles, keeping track of every fine detail on the drawings on the tile. "Isn't it?"

"Not really," Shijin said simply. He closed his eyes and smiled. "It's just how I make my living."

"Old man, you're short a silver piece," a sneer broke their conversation. Both Hana and Shijin turned to see three Wu Jian agents standing at the door to someone's house. Inside was an elderly man, who shook with fright as he fished around for a silver piece that he didn't have. "Don't tell us that you want the governor to starve?"

"He's already taken all of my money," the old man widened his eyes. "And we don't have enough travelers to keep up with all of these fees and tributes. Can you please tell him to come back later when I have had time to get more? This is unreasonable!"

"Complaining about Governor Tu Fei are we?" the lead man grinned. "That's sedition if I ever heard of it. I think we ought to give you a bit of a lesson."

The three men proceeded to forcefully drag the feeble man onto the street, where they brandished their batons and beat the man's hands and feet. Everyone passing by looked away, covering their own scarred and bruised faces with their wounded hands.

"Shijin, we have to do something," Hana hissed, brushing up her sleeves. Kupo, who had stayed quiet the entire time, growled alongside. "We can't let them do this."

"Don't," Shijin's voice, to Hana's surprise, was calm. He had already turned away from the violence, looking around for the appropriate inn. "Ignore them."

"What?" Hana's voice was full of disapproval. She held onto Shijin's arm as he attempted to walk away and stared at him with the eyes of an angry panther. "How can we do that? That poor old man is getting attacked. Why don't you go fight them? You can, can't you?"

"Just watch," Shijin sighed.

When Hana turned back, another man, presumably the old man's son, burst out to cover for his father.

"Look here," the mercenaries laughed. "Someone protecting a seditionist?"

They instantly turned to the son too, and after a few more seconds, the man was unconscious and bleeding. Both of them were then promptly picked up and dragged to the big building at the end of the town. As they disappeared into it, one of them women on the streets ran to the house and closed the door before rushing away.

"Kindness doesn't get you anywhere here, unless you want to end up like them," the Airbender kept walking, dragging along Hana's weakening grip. "Now pull yourself together. Let's first just find a place to stay for the night. I don't intend to keep you here for very long."

That night, they ate only steamed rice and gave Kupo a small slice of their salted fish. Hana was quiet, softly chewing away at the sticky balls of rice in her mouth. The badgermole finished its meal quickly, before rolling away to a corner of the room to play with a few unmarked tiles that had been left by the room's previous owners. When Shijin and Hana had both finished their meals, Shijin unwrapped his paper board and set aside the tiles on each side.

"Come on," Shijin offered a hand to Hana. "Let's play a game. I want to see how much you've learned."

"I'm not in the mood," Hana moved her hands around the tiles. They swirled around her hands. It was the only sound in the wooden room lit only by oil lamps and candles. "Let's not play today."

A crescent moon was out today, and there was a small wind that diminished the humidity of the summer air. They were staying the night on the second floor of the cheapest inn Shijin could find. Below them, guards and soldiers patrolled the streets, occasionally knocking on doors and yelling to keep down the noise. Across the street was a local bar, and soldiers there tired from day duty gathered and yelled themselves, a gathering of hypocrisy, smoke, and drinks.

"How do you expect to get better if you don't practice?" Shijin frowned. "If you're not in the mood because some old man got beaten for not paying his taxes, then that's no excuse to me. This kind of thing is pretty common in most of the cities up here in the north."

"Then why did you take me here," Hana's demand came out as a whisper. "Why didn't we go south, like all of your other Air Nomad friends?"

"Chin's army is headed south, and I would much rather brave this territory then risk running into the middle of battle," Shijin defended. "And for the record, I don't follow most Air Nomads because they're not too happy to see me as it is."

"That's pretty selfish if you ask me," Hana bit her lip. "Bringing a girl to a place like this."

"I had no intention of bringing anyone with me," Shijin's eyes narrowed. "You should probably remember that part first."

"You could've helped them," Hana choked back on tears. "I've seen you fight. You could've taken out all of these soldiers, all of these mercenaries. I don't know why you didn't."

"I didn't want to get involved," Shijin folded his arms, his hands a little bit too tight on his tiles. "Why would I even want to get involved?"

"Because it's the right thing to do. You don't even need to fight," Hana pointed at the board. "You could have just challenged the governor, that Tu Fei guy, to some Pai Sho match. And if you won, you could tell him to never bother any of these townspeople ever again."

"That's the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard," Shijin put his hand on his forehead. "Okay, let's have it your way. Let's say I fought, or I gambled everything and won against the governor, which in all honesty I might not be able to. What makes you think that the minute we left, they wouldn't return to normal and continue terrifying the town?"

Hana was silent, her lip almost pierced by how fiercely she was bringing her teeth against them. She put her head down, her hands also gripping tightly on a few tiles. Suddenly, with a squelched cry she flung a Sky Bison tile to the wall. It made a small clang against the wooden surface before rolling back to its original place next to Hana.

"Forget it," Shijin sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, but we're stuck here for now. We'll try this again tomorrow. Like I said, this is the Earth Kingdom. People have always lived like this, and they neither hate it nor enjoy it. It is a way of life for the commoners here. No matter what we do, their lives will never change."

Shijin folded up his board, placed the tiles back into the bag, and threw them onto a stand next to the two person bed. As usual, he then walked over to a corner of the room and lied down, his head pressed against the walls. He yawned and then closed his eyes.

"Get some good rest," the monk said. "It'll help."

* * *

><p>When Shijin awoke, one of the oil lamps had been relit, Hana was missing, and his set of Pai Sho tiles and board was gone. He looked out the window to see the white crescent moon still hanging over the sky. The hollering from the bar had ceased, but there were quite a few lights still lit in the dead night. Kupo groaned at the doorway, scratching at the wooden door.<p>

"That girl," Shijin muttered, shaking himself awake. "Don't tell me…"

He headed downstairs, confirmed with the innkeeper at the front desk that a young woman had left the inn not twenty minutes ago, and then left in the direction of the government office. A few strange glares came his way as he walked, but the monk ignored them as usual. He approached the massive structure at the far end of town, where he was yet again met by the guards and their suspicious glares. When Shijin mentioned a fairly young lady, the guards smiled deviously at him and prompted him to enter.

The halls of the office were lined with gold, its ceilings well painted with fine Earth Kingdom art. Imported paintings from across the sea and from around the land hung on the walls. To Shijin's knowledge, many offices across Chin's lands were like this. The Conqueror would confiscate the arts and cultural heirlooms and take them to his halls and palaces. It was his way of telling the Earth Kingdom that all would be united under the banner of Chin.

"Quite a beautiful way to announce such a thing, in some ways," Shijin said. "Of course, you would have to count out the murders, thefts, and briberies that it took to take all of these from their respective owners and families."

They headed farther up a flight of stairs, and it was at this point that Shijin heard a rather loud voice coming from upstairs. It was a girl's voice, and from the sound of it, she was getting angrier by the second. When they reached the next floor, the guards brought the Airbender to a door at the far end. Inside, Hana was standing, face filled with rage, and Shijin's board and tiles were spread on a table in the middle of the room.

A man around Shijin's age was seated at the back. His hair was longer than Shijin's, long enough for his hair to be tied into a topknot. He was grinning at Hana; his hands carelessly perched on his chin. He was dressed rather lavishly in a silk sleeping gown.

"So," Hana pointed at the tiles. "If I win, you release that old man and his son that you imprisoned today, and you stop terrorizing them."

"And if I win?" the man, who Shijin figured to be Governor Tu Fei, raised an eyebrow. "Because miss all you've been talking about is you winning this Pai Sho match against me. What if you lose this match? What happens then? Should I turn you over to the Wu Jian, let them have their way with you? Or perhaps I can turn you into a day laborer? I could always do a brothel as well."

Hana visibly flinched.

"Do what you will with me if you win," Hana said finally. "As long as you keep your end of the deal."

"What are you doing," Shijin rushed to Hana's side before she said anything else out of line. Hana seemed shocked that Shijin had followed her. The Air Nomad turned to the governor and knelt on his knees. "I apologize for her reckless behavior. I shall take full responsibility for everything. Now if you excuse us, we'll just leave."

"Then take responsibility when I beat her at this game," Tu Fei stepped off of his seat. He approached the round table in the middle and sat down, motioning for Hana to come join him. The guards around Shijin blocked the exits. "I think an Airbender would make a fine slave under the right conditions."

The monk growled. He reached for his staff before he realized that he left it in the room. Quickly, he counted almost a dozen enemies, half of them of the infamous Wu Jian in the room. There didn't look to be a reasonable escape opportunity. There was no choice. Hana had to play and win.

"Shijin," Hana said, looking at the Airbender, coming to a similar conclusion. "I-"

"Don't say anything," Shijin sighed, and gave her a gentle nudge toward the table. "It's a bit too late for it, and I can't say that it's not my fault for putting myself into this. Just play like you always have. Don't worry too much about me."

"But this is different," Hana insisted. "This isn't just money this time. I could lose my teacher too."

"A teacher is always willing to sacrifice things for his student," Shijin flicked the girl on the head. "Like I said, don't worry too much about it. You've been practicing quite a lot. Just stick to what you know. This was your idea wasn't it? If so, stop being such a baby and get on with it."

Hana didn't look convinced, but nonetheless she stepped toward the table.

"Guests receive first move," said Tu Fei, waving his hands over the table. "If the Airbender is your teacher, then I assume you're going to open with the Nomad's Path."

Hana was silent. She didn't know the Nomad's Path. Shijin hadn't taught her after all. Instead, she reached into the pot of tiles and slapped a Sky Bison at the corner of her board. Tu Fei seemed pleased, as if he knew it was coming. Shijin himself was a little surprised.

"Ironically enough," the monk allowed himself a chuckle. "That's actually how you open the Nomad's Path."

"The famous opening engineered by the Nomads hundreds of years ago," Tu Fei scoffed. "I've seen the opening, and there's no doubt that it's impressive. But it falls on its face when you block it right at the start. I wonder what happens when you can't use any of your bison tiles."

The governor placed a Chrysanthemum piece in front of the Sky Bison tile, effectively keeping it from moving out of the corner of the board. Hana said nothing, but placed another tile at the other corner of her board. Tu Fei blocked again.

"And there goes your two bison," Tu fei smirked. "Is this not a genius way of blocking the most groundbreaking strategy in the history of Pai Sho?"

Shijin smacked his forehead, partly out of anger and partly out of relief. Tu Fei's strategy was so straightforward, ill-conceived, and simple minded that the governor must have only spent the last few days actually learning how to play the game. If the monk had actually played the governor, beating him with the common response to this idiotic counter plan would have been a cinch.

"At this point," Shijin said to himself. "The governor has already wasted two moves in deploying two of the most useless tiles in the game. They serve no purpose if they're taken, so they're essentially deadweight tiles. In other words, if she plays correctly, she'll have two more movable pieces going into the later stages of the game than Tu Fei will. This counter assumes that the Nomad's Path is useless without the Sky Bison. This assumption is laughably incorrect, so it sacrifices late game power for nothing."

Hana, on the other hand, seemed more flustered with the fact that her Sky Bison couldn't move. She looked over her remaining tiles, then slapped a Badgermole tile onto the middle of the board. She seemed satisfied with this, took a deep breath, and waited for her opponent's next move.

Tu Fei frowned, and Shijin grinned.

"This could be your chance," the nomad said under his breath. "You're playing like a completely inexperienced player, and since he's not any good himself, there's no way he'll recognize weaknesses in your deployment."

After a moment of hesitation, the governor decided to be aggressive and placed a Wheel tile his side of the board. Hana recognized this tile. It was a tile that Shijin used many times to dismantle and trap her tiles. It could move forwards, backwards, left, or right as many spaces as it wanted. This particular wheel piece was directly aligned with the Badgermole tile.

"Trust your instincts," Shijin said. "Places pieces in a position where you can satisfy two objectives at once."

Hana responded with a Wheel tile of her own, placing it on the left side of the middle square so that it was directly in line with her Badgermole tile and Tu Fei's leftmost chrysanthemum tile. Tu Fei, not too concerned about the Wheel tile that was threatening his chrysanthemum, placed his White Lotus tile behind his own wheel.

Shijin's student, knowing that she now had the obligation to place a lotus tile as well, deployed it on the right side of the middle square, so that it was lined up with Tu Fei's rightmost chrysanthemum tile. When Tu Fei placed another Wheel tile in the same line as both his and Hana's White Lotus tile, Hana moved her Badgermole directly to the lotus's side, protecting it from danger.

It was at this point that Shijin could see the plan forming in Hana's mind. It was a rather clever one, Shijin had to admit, which forced Tu Fei to focus on one side of the board, while completely ignoring the other. The governor moved the wheel tile in front of his White Lotus tile to his left, aligning it with Hana's Badgermole tile.

Then, Hana moved her leftmost Wheel tile up so that it was in direct line with Tu Fei's White Lotus, and the governor knew how much trouble he was in. Forced to move his White Lotus tile, the only flower that was able to move, down towards him, Hana moved her Wheel tile to capture Tu Fei's wheel on the other side of the board. Trying to find some way to trade pieces, Tu Fei moved down and captured the Badgermole tile with his other wheel, threatening Hana's White Lotus.

Hana moved the lotus diagonally to the right, and when Tu Fei placed a badgermole of his own to protect his lotus, Hana swiftly moved down with her wheel to take the rightmost Chrysanthemum tile to free the first Sky Bison she had played at the beginning of the game.

It was a downhill battle from there. Hana's Sky Bison was free to move the minute Hana moved her wheel out of the way, so Tu Fei's only response was to try to take Sky Bison tiles as well. Of course, when he placed down both of his bison, Hana placed chrysanthemum tiles at the entrances to block them.

Tu Fei, in a desperate attempt at freeing his bison, moved his wheel to capture the flower tiles in front of the Sky Bison entrances. Before he could do so, however, Hana had already deployed her other wheel into position to take out the governor's Badgermole.

The town leader was distraught as he realized that there was nothing else that he could do. He looked at Hana's, whose eyes showed signs of drooping but nonetheless were completely focused on the game. He clenched his teeth, his neck tensed, and Shijin smiled as Tu Fei folded his White Lotus tile over in defeat.

"And this," Shijin finally spoke aloud to Hana, walking up to her and patting her on the shoulder. "Is why I didn't need to teach you openings."

"I won?" Hana could barely accept it. She turned to Shijin with a beaming glare, as if all of her exhaustion had washed away. "I won. My first victory."

"Yes, yes, you won," Tu Fei waved his hands dismissively. "Now will you please stop talking already? It's almost morning, and I haven't had any good sleep because of you and your excessive hollering. Hurry up and get out of my city."

"Not until you keep your promise," Hana grinned. "I won, so that means you have to uphold your end of the deal. You are to release the old man and his son. You are not to terrorize this city and its good people any longer."

"Not happening," Tu Fei replied. "Now leave."

"W-what?" Hana's victorious tone shattered after hearing just four words. She was flabbergasted. "B-but…you said…"

"Get. Out," Tu Fei didn't look like he was going to repeat it. The guards and mercenaries around Shijin turned threateningly at him. The Airbender quickly cleaned up his Pai Sho set, before grabbing Hana's frozen hand and pulling her out of the room.

As they headed out, Hana said nothing. Her eyes were still wide with shock, her face drained of color, the rising sun the only thing that illuminated her slightly tanned face.

"Don't think too much about it," Shijin tried consoling her when they got back to the inn. "It was bound to happen anyway. These warlords toy with their subjects all the time, and I'm surprised you didn't suspect that the man would lie about such a large request."

Hana was silent. A few minutes later, Shijin paid the fee for the night at the inn, and called Kupo out of the room.

"This is at least something we should celebrate," Shijin tried again when they were at the city gates. Hana took a final look back at the home of the old man and his son. "It is your first victory after all, and against a governor of a town no less."

"For some reason," Hana mumbled before stepping outside the gates. "It doesn't really feel like a victory."

Hana's eyes were drooping, her exhaustion a combination of lack of sleep and colossal disappointment. Shijin didn't really know what to say. To compensate, he just squeezed the girl's hand, and then he knelt down to allow a tired Hana to sleep on his back.

"Get some good rest," Shijin said as she dozed off to sleep, her soft breath on his neck.

"It'll help."

_To be continued..._


	5. Lesson Five

**Lesson Five: Origins**

* * *

><p>Summer was ending, and the people of the northern Earth Kingdom were quick to begin preparing celebrations. It was at this time that Hana first spotted children toiling over the fields. Young boys and girls, working alongside their mothers and fathers, sang cheerfully from sunrise to sundown. They collected not only wheat and vegetables, but the boys often went with their fathers to the distant forests to retrieve large pieces of firewood.<p>

"They use those to build torches at the end of the summer," Shijin explained during a small break they took in the afternoon. "After they light them, they often sing songs dedicated to love or the _huan zhi_, the badgermole. Your animal friend is revered by the northern commoners more than any other part of the Earth Kingdom."

"Why is that?" Hana asked, looking down at Kupo, who walked oblivious to their conversation. He sniffed the ground as usual, flicking over rocks with his paws and snatching up running insects.

"There are many parts of the north where the farmland is scarce," Shijin pointed at the large hills in the distance. "The mountainous regions, for example, almost have no good soil at all. The people there often pray to the badgermole spirits to grant them a strong harvest for what little land they do have."

"Are we going to see one of these festivals?" Hana asked, excited.

"That's the idea," Shijin stood up, brushed the dirt off his robes, and picked up his staff from the nearby tree. "We're visiting one of the first villages I came to when I crossed this place alone eleven years ago. It's been a little over a year since my last visit, and I might still have a friend there. I have some business with him."

"You came all this way eleven years ago?" Hana surveyed the land as she asked, trying to imagine a young Air Nomad walking along this road by himself. "How old were you then?"

"Ten," Shijin answered. "Well, it's not like I had a choice anyway. Besides, I had company, so it wasn't all that hard. Nobody wants to fight an Airbender with a stingy Sky Bison at his side, no matter how young he is. I managed somehow, and like I said, I made a few friends along the way."

"An Airbender, huh? And a badgermole baby too," a young man interrupted. He was walking next to them on the road. He appeared slightly older than Shijin, but that could have just been because of his unshaved beard. "Well, it must be my lucky day. They say an Airbender brings fair winds for a safe journey home. Master Airbender, do you know if that's true or not?"

"I've never heard of it," Shijin turned to the traveler. "Are you on your way home?"

"You bet I am," he laughed. He was carrying a bamboo pole in his two arms, with buckets hanging from both ends. In one bucket, there was food, and in the other there was water. "I've been stocking up some food for my family before the autumn hits. They say there might be a drought this year, so I'm being extra careful."

"I haven't heard of a drought," Hana butt into the conversation. "It's been raining quite often, even during the summer time."

"That's what everyone's scared about," the man said. "It's been raining too much. The spirits must have something in store for us, and I think we're in for a poor fall harvest. All the more experienced farmers are talking about it too. But enough of this more depressing talk. What's your business here? You don't often see Airbenders in the north."

"Are we really that rare here?" Shijin asked. "I hear nomads from the Western Temple often follow the winds to come to the Earth Kingdom. The Northern Gale I believe it's called. The fastest way into the Earth Kingdom from the Fire Nation is through that path, and it leads straight here."

"I haven't seen any," the man shrugged. "Though I'd love to see those Air Nomad maidens one day. I hear they're some of the loveliest and dangerous Airbenders out there. Maybe that's why the last Avatar from the Air Nomads was a girl. You haven't happened to meet any have you?"

"I've never been to the Western Temple I'm afraid, and while I have visited the Eastern Temple, my memories of the place now slip my mind," Shijin shook his head. "I'm sorry I can't give you any more details than what you've just said."

"What a shame," said the man, looking quite disappointed. "If I was a travelling Airbender those would be the first places I would go."

They partook in small talk for a little while longer before the man left at a fork in the road. By then, it was early afternoon, and more and more travelers were streaming in from even off the road. At the intersection, a trio of Wu Jian guards lied underneath a tree, keeping watchful eyes in the shade.

"My name is Ai," said the man. "Good day."

"Shijin," The Airbender bowed his head. "The legend may not be true, but I hope you have a safe journey home."

"Is it customary to give out your names like that," Hana asked when the man had walked off and the growing travelling mob obscured him. "You probably will never see him again."

"Probably not," Shijin agreed. "But a land like this, a few kind words to travelers can always go a long way. These are tough times, and there is nothing more that people want on long journeys than a person that they can talk to."

"And is it true?" Hana asked, changing the topic suddenly. "You've never been to the Fire Nation?"

"You mean the Western Air Temple?" Shijin corrected. "Yes. It's the only temple I haven't visited out of the four. I have, however, been to the Fire Nation once, but it was different. It's definitely not a place that's suited for someone like me."

"Too hot for your monk clothes?" Hana joked.

"No," Shijin replied, a little more serious. "Too fast."

"Tell me stories about the Fire Nation, Shijin," Hana looked dreamily at the sky. "What is it like there?"

"Aren't stories about the Earth Kingdom already enough for your small head?" Shijin raised an eyebrow, brushing his hand over Hana's hair. "I doubt that there are any worthwhile stories I could tell you about that country. The people there are respectful but also have great pride in their country. They are a powerful people, but I was not there long enough to meet many of them."

The village Shijin had been referring to lied to the northwest of the settlement run by Tu Fei. After their little squabble, Shijin no longer stopped in towns he knew were guarded heavily by Wu Jian mercenaries. He began favoring the smaller communities mostly unchecked by the agents. Even there, however, he could rarely hide Hana's eyes from the atrocities committed by Chin's soldiers.

When they had arrived, Hana found that the village was different from most of the square shaped towns that Hana had grown accustomed to. The stores and houses formed circles, rings that surrounded the center plaza, a meeting place for friends and a market place for local merchants. There were more animals here than the other villages, and Hana found it a bit difficult to keep Kupo from aggressively chasing the chicken pigs around.

"As you can see, the farmland is a bit scarcer. The land is much more rocky and difficult to tend to, so many northerners are used to eating a more meat heavy diet," Shijin explained. "Amusingly, this also explains why many of the men in Chin's army are on average stronger than others from other parts of the land."

"It sure looks good," Hana's mouth watered at the aroma of cooked fish and venison. Over a dozen shop vendors were selling different types of meat, seasoned and spiced in a variety of ways. After looking at the money that the villagers were giving to the vendors for the food, however, Hana puffed her cheeks. "I'm sure it's a bit too expensive for us, though."

"I wasn't intending on buying any food today," Shijin pointed at a house in the middle ring of the village. "I actually wasn't even thinking of buying a room at an inn. I was hoping a friend of mine would let us stay for the night. He's quite the experienced Pai Sho player too, so perhaps you can learn something from him."

The house was a tad bit larger than the inn standing next door to it. It was two storied, with smoke rising from a red brick chimney. Its roof seemed to be just recently fixed with patches of hay and straws. The earth walls also looked recently refurbished and repaired. When they were on the front step, Shijin knocked on the wooden door twice and then waited.

A few moments later, a man with broad shoulders and a slightly pudgy face answered the door. Upon seeing the Airbender, this man's eyes widened and he instantly grabbed at Shijin with his large arms. Shijin's friend embraced the nomad in a crushing hug, his smile a mixture of joy and relief.

"It's been way too long," said the man when he let go. He examined Shijin from top to bottom, especially keeping his attention on the Airbender's unshaved head. "To think I missed your visit last year! My, how you've grown over these years. I don't look too shabby myself right?"

"Not at all, Hong," Shijin laughed. "It is great to finally be back here."

"Well there's no use in standing out here all day long. Come in, come in. We can talk more once we're inside," Hong beckoned Shijin inside, before catching sight of Hana. "Shijin, I didn't know you were bringing a girl along with you."

"My name is Hana," Hana said immediately. She bowed as deeply as she could. "I'm Shijin's newest Pai Sho student. He's taken very good care of me."

"Pai Sho student huh?" Hong looked at Shijin dubiously, who shrugged as if he had no say in the matter. "I certainly didn't see that one coming. Well, who am I to challenge the decision of this town's best Pai Sho player? Now come in. Your badgermole can come in too. You've caught me at a rather nice time. I was just about to make some of my special brews. Great for the muscles!"

Hong trailed off into his world of beverages and herbal concoctions while Hana and Shijin stepped inside. A warm feeling washed over Hana, and she spotted a stone bot boiling over a fireplace at the backend of the house. Kupo immediately rushed to it and rolled around on the carpet next to the fire. An aroma of fish stew came from the pot, and it mixed with the fragrance of flowers hanging from the ceiling. Kupo stared at the pot and sniffed, his mouth slightly open.

"This is a nice house," Hana mentioned when they were introduced to the living room where the hearth burned hot. Four fluffy leather chairs formed a circle around a real wooden Pai Sho board. "Better than the places that Shijin and I stay in at least."

"Frugal as ever I see," Hong chuckled, lifting the pot lid and sniffing at the bubbling soup inside. He sighed happily. "Well, that's how it is when you try to play Pai Sho for a living, especially if you're always travelling from place to place. You never make much do you Shijin?"

"I lost all my money because it got stolen in Omashu," Shijin sat down and unpacked his bag. "Playing Pai Sho has nothing to do with it. I'll have you know I still have some stashes hidden in the village."

"Is that why you're here," Hong imitated the look of a hurt dog. He grabbed a pair of mittens from the mantle above the fireplace. "And here I thought you wanted to give your old pal a rematch. Well, that's fine and all. I haven't played Pai Sho since you left. I've probably lost my touch by now. Are you two staying for dinner? There's the festival to be thinking about too."

"I was hoping we could stay with you until tomorrow, when the festival ends," Shijin explained. "Of course, I don't mean to impose. If you don't have room we could always book an inn."

"Anything for an old friend," Hong brought over a few bowls and served the soup. He set aside a small bowl on the floor for his badgermole guest. "Try it out yourself. It's got some special flowers I picked from the forest. People usually use them for tea, but they add a nice flavor if you mix and boil it with the local fish. Anyhow, you three can stay for however long you like."

"Thank you," Shijin bowed. "I knew we could count on you."

"Now that that's out of the way," Hong turned to Hana. "I'd like to hear this story right here. Shijin, I thought you were content with living the rest of your exile alone. What's with the sudden change of heart?"

"Forced participation," Shijin poked a finger at Hana's cheek, who glared back at him. "If I hadn't brought her with me, who knows what would've happened to her by now. She's a fool in every way, and I thought that I might as well teach her how to make money before journeying anywhere else."

"I at least won one game," Hana protested.

"How long have you been teaching her for?" Hong asked.

"About a month. It was around the time when it was raining south near Omashu," Shijin answered.

"And do you intend to let her enter in any tournaments?" Hong looked Hana in the eye, who had a difficult time maintaining his stare. "Of course, she's new to the game, but if you're taking her on a student, then there's no limit to how much she can improve."

"You have that much faith in my abilities?" Shijin laughed. "We'll see. I was hoping to train her until she was ready for some of the rings in Ba Sing Se."

"That's tough, but I see you're taking this quite seriously," Hong leaned back and whistled. He smiled and patted Hana on the shoulder. "That's a pretty nice goal you've set for yourself there, Hana. You be sure to train hard. There's no one I know better suited to teaching this game than Shijin."

"That's because the only person you know that still plays this game around here is me," Shijin pointed out.

They laughed together, while Hana sat beside them, slightly confused as to why they were talking so much about her. She had nothing to really contribute, so she just sat and drank her soup.

That night, Shijin slept in the living room. Hana was in the guest room that Hong had prepared for her, which left the fluffy armchair all to the Airbender. It was getting late, and Shijin was still staring at the embers underneath the firewood. Kupo lied just in front of it, a small nasally snore coming from his tiny mouth. The crackling in the fireplace mixed with the chirping of the crickets, an exotic drumbeat supporting a quiet moonlight melody.

The nomad leaned forward in his seat, and he brushed his hands over the wooden Pai Sho board. Realizing that sleep wasn't going embrace him in its arms just yet, he reached to the left of his chair to grab his bag of tiles. Holding the bag in his lap, Shijin reached inside, feeling for the pieces just based on the sketches carved into the pieces.

"She opens with a white lotus in the center," he whispered, placing a piece on the board. "Her opponent instantly jumps in and takes the bait."

"She responds with a wheel here," Shijin slapped down another tile. "He keeps up the pressure, but little does he know that he's falling deeper and deeper into a hole. She has now set the trap. It is up to her opponent now to spring it."

"Sky Bison placed. She ignores it and just places a bison of her own," Shijin slid the pieces around. They moved along the surface of the field like a board skidding on ice. "Where is her badgermole? Where is her favorite tile?"

By now, Shijin's narrative turned to less than coherent mutterings. His hands shifted rapidly between the board and his bag, outpacing the commentary streaming from Shijin's lips. The two hands moved simultaneously, capturing, moving, deploying. When his hands finally stopped, there were no more than four pieces left on the board.

"It's over," Shijin said. "And she wins again."

"I'm surprised you still remember that game to every small detail," said Hong, arms folded at the doorway. "It's been such a long time since then, but a birthday is a pretty good day to remember."

"Every game is a valuable reference," Shijin looked up. "My mother's games are no different."

"How long ago was it, that she became master of the tiles here? Ten years almost, when she beat my grandfather for the spot," Hong smiled, nodding his head. "Then you took over. The talent for this game must run in the family."

"Except I use my talents to gamble," Shijin said. He yawned. "Unlike me, my mother never took a cent for her winnings. Even in exile, my mother looked at the world as if everything was a field of chrysanthemum gardens we had back home."

"Gambling implies the game you're playing is dependent on luck," Hong scanned the board. "There is no such thing as luck in Pai Sho."

"Maybe," Shijin lied back in the chair. It appeared a bit of reminiscence had gotten him quite tired. "But perhaps I wasn't talking about gambling with Pai Sho."

"But what would you be talking about then?" Hong asked, a little vexed. "Certainly you don't mean-"

"Good night Hong," Shijin snuggled into the chair. "I'm going to need you to watch over the girl tomorrow, because I have a few errands to run. You're the only one I know that can teach her, because spirits know I don't want to talk about it."

* * *

><p>"What do you mean I'm not allowed to go? I want to see the festival too," Hana complained the next day, puffing her cheeks in her usual pout. It was midafternoon and the festival was starting. "Why can't I go with you? You said we were coming to see the festival didn't you?"<p>

"There's a lesson that I want Hong to teach you today," Shijin explained. "Unlike me, Hong's more of a self-taught scholar in Pai Sho, so I expect you to pay close attention. Some of this stuff is something you might not even be able to learn from me."

"Oh come on," Hong feigned a blush. "You don't have to embarrass me."

"My first chance to actually attend a summer festival and it's gone like this. I didn't even get to find out what it looks like," Hana sighed. Kupo jumped on her lap and looked at her like he wanted to know what was wrong. She took a few moments to relax, before turning to the large man standing next to Shijin. "So, Sifu Hong, what are we learning today?"

"Let's start with a game," Hong motioned towards the Pai Sho board. Shijin nodded in Hong's direction and left through the front door. "I want to first see how you play. How much has Shijin taught you about territory control? Exchanges?"

"Shijin just gives me a lot of critiques," Hana said. "But from what he's taught me, Pai Sho is all about controlling the parts of the board that you need to control and ignoring the parts that you don't need. Since the board is really large and you don't have that many pieces to play, you should be trying to keep your pieces nicely concentrated unless you have some other kind of plan."

"That sounds about right," Hong nodded. "Well, I don't want to explain too much, so let's see what you've got. I'm a little rusty, so go on easy on me please."

Seven turns later, Hong held his hand up. His squinted eyes shifted back and forth between each of Hana's pieces. He creased his forehead, placing his hand on his chin to think. After a moment, he picked up his own pieces and began placing them back in his bag.

"What's going on?" Hana said. "Did I lose already?"

"No," Hong answered. "I think I've done enough analysis to know what lesson Shijin was referring to when he asked me to teach you something."

"But nobody has even won yet," Hana pointed out. "And Shijin says that most deployments don't even end until the tenth turn, and even then pieces get deployed in the next dozen turns or so until both White Lotuses have been placed on the field."

"I only need a few pieces to learn what kind of player you are," Hong pointed at the four pieces on Hana's side of the board. "And from this deployment, I can tell that you're not playing with any purpose in mind."

"What do you mean by that?" Hana didn't understand. "I did have a plan. I was going to concentrate on your left flank with my wheels and then force you into a corner by placing my white lotus tile in the right. I did it once against –"

"Not that," Hong snapped. "I mean you're playing as if the game is just what it is: a board with a couple of pieces on it. You move them around without feeling, without a hint for what the game is supposed to be about. Hana, this game is a lot more than just a couple of wooden sketches and rules. It's got an entire history behind it."

"Isn't it just about capturing the white lotus tile?" Hana asked.

"The white lotus is more of a symbol than anything else," Hong explained. He looked outside the morning window, listening to the chants and yells of people outside. The festival was in full swing. He wondered if Shijin had found his stashes. "Come on. I think a little fresh air can help me explain this to you a little better. You can bring your badgermole with you too."

They headed outside, and instantly Hana was overwhelmed with the sight of hundreds of people crowding around the little village. Kupo jumped excitedly and ran towards the masses of people, smelling the different aromas of food spread throughout the rings of the village. Hana was about to call after her pet, but a hand fell on her shoulder.

"He'll be okay," Hong reassured. "A badgermole may be blind but they navigate through these crowds like a cat gator in a swamp. They also never forget the vibrations of a footstep when they choose to, and it seems to be growing more and more attached to you. It will come back."

Hong led Hana through the streets, skimming through the different foods and treats that each vendor had to offer. There were exotic foods that Hana had never seen before. Foods were shaped in intricate designs, drinks that were poured in coconut shells, and small jewels strung from rare leaves and flowers.

"Let's get some lunch first. I want to take you to the hill behind this village," Hong looked around the stores. "These are all nice, but this village is best known for its _yan mian_, or steamed noodles. It's a very nice dish, very simple too. I ate it when I was a boy and I never forgot its gorgeous taste. Oh! I found one!"

"You don't have to pay," Hana insisted when her caretaker asked for a bowl for her. She held up her bag of coins. "Shijin left me with some money, so I can pay for myself."

"I don't know what the rules are at other villages and cities," Hong smiled, placing his coins on the table before Hana could open her bag. "But here, we respect our guests with hospitality. Besides, Shijin's a longtime friend, and I probably owe him more money than my life's worth. Paying you is a small slice of a bigger egg tart miss Hana."

After grabbing a steaming bowl of _yan mian_, Hong led Hana up the hill, away from the village. Along the way, Kupo ran back to them, his face stuffed with miscellaneous bits of food, and Hana wondered what the storekeepers would say if they found that a little thief had been sneaking through every stall.

"Would you get in trouble?" Hong repeated Hana's question when she asked. "Of course not. Kupo's a badgermole! This entire celebration is dedicated to them. If a shopkeeper found out that your little friend has been chewing on his merchandise, he might just die in happiness. Just listen to their songs!"

Hana listened. As they scaled the hill, a band of children marched down the road besides them with bundles of food. None of them could have been older than twelve, yet their bodies, even the girls, were stronger and fitter than all of the young boys that Hana had seen in Omashu. As they marched, they sang, and the youngest child stood in the back beating on a makeshift drum.

_What will tomorrow bring?_

_A bountiful bucket of rice, a net of fresh fish, or a season of nil?_

_Our backs hurt in the month of harvest and yet we still sing,_

_Sing to the huan zhi, so our pains do not go unfulfilled,_

_Badgermole, badgermole! Bless our soil,_

_May you water this dry paradise,_

_Let our torches guide you!_

"It's a nice song," Hana admitted, bobbing her head in accordance with the slow drumming. She reached down and tapped Kupo on the head. "To think someone like you might bring these kids a big harvest this season is hard to imagine. I guess every place has its culture."

"This place especially," Hong agreed. "That song must be centuries old, and it's a pretty artistic piece. You see, if you lined up the lyrics and centered them on a parchment, the words form a picture of a bowl of rice. The people in this village, and many around the north, are very superstitious like that. "

"I'm wondering though, what do they mean by guiding the badgermoles with torches?" Hana turned to Hong as the children repeated the stanza they had just sung. "Badgermoles are blind right? They can't see any light."

"You'll see," Hong smiled. "Here we are!"

They stood on a tall grassy hill. A lone tree stood at the hill's center. The pink blossoms rustled on the branches, occasionally breaking off and falling to the large roots at the trunk of the tree. Hong and Hana sat beneath this tree, their faces lit pink by the sunlight overhead.

From the top of the hill, Hana could see the entire village, along with miles and miles of road stretching in every direction. She could see the tips of the mountains to the northwest, their bodies forming a line of dulled spears. The fields stretched for miles, appearing like squares of green and brown. The water that flowed through these farms sparkled like the brightest of crystals. Beyond the fields lit by a shining sun, from the maps that Hana had perused through, were lakes and rivers that flowed into the tips of the kingdom.

"What a view," Hana whispered. She smiled. "For a while now, I've thought that this place was just a land ruled by a bad man who did nothing but hurt his people. But seeing this. This is incredible."

"The people of the kingdom draw their strength from the earth," Hong explained, his hands motioning toward the vast land around them. "As long as Chin doesn't burn this land to the ground, which he will never even consider, then the people who live here will always be strong. It might sound cheesy, but our lives are tethered to the soil, its bounties, and even the smallest of insects peeping out of the ground. It may not surprise you then that Pai Sho was invented in this very land."

"Shijin told me about it once," Hana said. "That Pai Sho was made by a bunch of Air Nomads who had too much time on their hands."

"Did he now?" Hong mumbled. "That one has always had a strange mentality toward his Air Nomad brethren. He would never tell me why though. Anyhow, the story is a lot deeper than just a few nomad friends creating a game like this. That's the lesson I'm going to teach you today."

"We're not learning any new moves today?" Hana asked.

"Pai Sho isn't just about playing the game," Hong explained. "At least that's not how it's played at a master level. Pai Sho is a story of relationships, and everything you do on the board is a reflection of who you are as a person. When you become good enough at this game, you will be able to learn more about Shijin in a single Pai Sho match than you will ever in a conversation with him."

Hana liked the ring to it. She scooted closer to the muscled man next to her and dipped her chopsticks into the warm bowl of noodles. As she took her first bite, Hong started his story.

"It starts with a journey between two men who promised to draft a map of the world together."

* * *

><p>According to legend, their names were <em>You<em>, pronounced in the ancient tongue as "yoh", and _Ji_. They were brothers of the Xi family, a rather ironic name for a family that started in the Eastern Air Temple. Their father died when they were little, and their mother always told stories of his journeys from one temple to the next. Their father, she said, was a cartographer who drew maps for the archives in the Southern Air Temple. However, he died of an illness before completing his work.

The two brothers, _You_ and _Ji_, were inspired by the stories of their brave father, who even in sickness, fought nature and beast, climbing the highest mountains and the most rapid of streams to imprint the world in his sketchbooks. At a young age, they decided that their dream was to finish their father's last project and draw a completed map of the Great Continent, the name of the Earth Kingdom before a line of kings united the lands as one country.

When they had grown older, the two brothers were acknowledged as two of the most powerful Airbenders in any of the temples. At the time, the Avatar had yet to learn Airbending, and both _You _and _Ji _were given the greatest honor to teach the young Avatar how to master Airbending. However, the two refused, saying that it was not their duty to teach the Avatar, but instead to traverse the world to finish their father's legacy. Outraged by their decision, the two were stripped of their master statuses, their bison, and were exiled from the temples.

"Leave us," the Council of Elders told them. "If you so wish to do duty to yourselves than to the world, then you may as well never walk the halls of these temples again. Be gone from our sight. You are no longer welcome among us."

Free at last from the constraints of the temples, the two brothers wished their tearful mother farewell and began their plans to forge a map.

"We should learn from our father's greatest mistake," said _You_, the older of the brothers. "The world is much too strong, even for a man like our father. However, if we were to divide drawing this map in two, then we achieve our father's goal faster and without risking our lives."

"This is a good way," _Ji _was quick to agree. "In that case, you can walk along the shore to the northwest, while I take the road to the south. If all goes well, then we shall meet each other once again on the opposite end of this kingdom."

They packed their bags and left on their separate ways, but not before clapping their hands in a sign of respect and bowing to each other. In the ancient language, this was known as _Pai Sho_, or clap hands.

For an entire year, the two carefully stayed along the edges of the kingdom, painting the scenery they found with their thin brushes, while cataloging the outlines of the kingdom in a separate sketchbook. They met many new people, saw many new things, and ate a lot of food. They sang the songs of the people, spread the ways of the nomads, and fought when there were innocents in harm's way.

Many people, even Airbenders, began hearing stories of a man walking along the shores of the Great Continent. However, the stories were muddled. Some of them said that the man was traversing through the north, others heard that he was in the southeast. Some said he saved a group of villagers from an oncoming flood, while others said that he returned water to a dry riverbed. When _You _and _Ji _began hearing these rumors, they grew joyous that the other was still alive and well.

A year passed, and the time for the two brothers to combine their works came and went, with neither of the brothers meeting the other on the road. It was then that the brothers realized their fatal mistake. In their hastiness to finish the map as quickly as possible, they had forgotten that they would have no idea what the midpoint of the kingdom looked like, nor was there any established road for them to wait on. It was a rather foolish mistake, but such can happen when one is blinded by a grand dream.

It was at that point that _You _remembered a game that the two had played when they were younger. It was a game that they had used to practice their map making skills. Since they were restricted from using parchment for any leisurely activities, the brothers used a white lotus leaf to draw on. One would tie a leaf to a pillar on the temple with a map to his hiding place, and the other would use the map to seek him out. They repeated this many times until they could read maps as well as they could read the ancient Airbending scrolls at the temples.

And so, desperate to send a message to his brother, _You_ bought many pieces of parchment and cut out a massive white lotus leaf. On it, he drew his entire side of the map, labeling cities, mountain ranges, and even writing an occasional caption about his adventures there. He hung this piece of parchment to the highest tree he could find along the shore of kingdom and proceeded on his way, hoping that one day his brother would find it and use it to complete the map their father had worked so hard to draw.

Not wanting to stay in one place too long, _You _left the shores of the Great Continent to journey inward and experience what else the lands had to offer. Little did he know, that _Ji _had also done the same thing, tying a large white lotus made from pieces of parchment to the highest tree on shores not too far from _You_. When both discovered this, the two would spend the rest of their lives searching for the other, and their dreams of a full map of the Earth Kingdom would be fulfilled with other map makers who found their drawings.

As the story goes, the two brothers never faced each other to finish the ending of their _Pai Sho _ritual. Some said that they each died on the road in the middle of their journey to the center of continent, fallen from the same disease as their father. Others say that they continued to live joyous lives, their times as Airbenders forgotten.

Regardless, to both those in and out of the Air Nomad circles, they knew of _You_ and _Ji_, along with their great journey across the land.

* * *

><p>When Hong was finished, the sun was falling. Kupo was sniffing at the air, the sounds of the festival growing softer. Something appeared to be happening at the village below. Hana wiped a small tear from her eye and took a deep breath to calm herself.<p>

"That was a pretty sad story," Hana said. "Though I don't get where all these other pieces come in. Like the bison? Or the wheel?"

"The game was made by a group of Airbenders who wanted to make the story a little more dramatic," Hong explained. "They started by making the game with just a few pieces, like the Sky Bison and the wheel. Influences from the Fire Nation and later the Earth Kingdom added in more and more tiles until you have the game today. Even the starting points where the Sky Bison start is heavily influenced by history. The corners of the board are meant to represent the four Air Temples. Back then, the nomads believed that their temples rested on the corners of the world."

"This is so much to take in," Hana felt a cool chill run through her body. "Pai Sho just always seemed to be that neat game that Shijin was always winning money with. Now, it seems so much more than that. It has a story to it. Every game is an adventure. Who will find the other's white lotus first? Who will finish the map before the other?"

"Now you understand why so many people spend half of their lives trying to become masters," Hong shook the girl's shoulders playfully. "Maybe with this, you can become a master yourself too one day."

"Me? A master," Hana laughed. "Please, I'm far from it. Shijin hasn't even deemed me ready to teach me any of his fancy deployments yet."

"Shijin has more faith in you than you know," Hong frowned, staring now straight into Hana's eyes. "I can understand now why he would call himself quite the gambler, and I can also understand now why he's so adamant on choosing you as his first student."

"What do you mean?" Hana shifted uncomfortably because of Hong's stare. A slight blush rose in her cheeks. "First student? That's pretty special."

"Miss Hana, if you don't mind me asking," Hong's tone was different now. It was more cautionary, even scared. "Your amber eyes. Are they your father's or your mother's?"

"My…" Hana jumped at the question, reluctant to give a straight forward answer. But when he stared back at Hong, she relinquished her fears. The man could be trusted, she thought. He was Shijin's friend, and she trusted Shijin too. "They're from my father."

"I see," Hong sighed. "You're quite the heavy baggage to be carrying around, Hana. Shijin must really have some faith in you if he's planning on taking you all around the Earth Kingdom like this. Well, he's quite the baggage himself. Now, let's forget about all of that and watch this. The final ritual of the festival."

At the end of the village, a small crowd gathered with torches lit in their hands. Standing at the entrance to the village was a large torch made from the firewood that Hana had seen being gathered by sons and fathers. The villagers lit this large torch ablaze and cheered as its smoke rose higher and higher into the evening sky. In the distance, another large was lit, and another, and another. They formed a long road heading south, until the fields looked like there was a red line burning through the middle.

"It's the road for the badgermole," Hong patted Kupo on the head. It snarled a little bit, but relaxed when Hong rubbed its fur a bit softer. "They might not be able to see, but the villagers hope that the warmth of the torches will bring them through here to bless our fields. It's the final warm feeling of summer."

Hana watched as more and more torches were lit into the distance.

"Here's to a bountiful fall," Hana whispered, standing up.

She clapped her hands and bowed.

And just like that, summer came to an end.


	6. Lesson Six

**Lesson Six: Adapting**

* * *

><p>One day, as Hana was stewing some fish outside of town, Shijin returned wearing a different set of clothes. His usual Airbender robes were tucked underneath his arms, and he had donned the brown robes of Earth Kingdom commoners. Hana's immediate reaction was to stifle a chuckle at the sight of an Airbender wearing farming attire.<p>

"Don't laugh," Shijin mumbled as he gently placed his robes in a newly bought duffle bag. He took a seat next to his student and threw aside a sheet of paper that was mixed in with his robes. Kupo, who was seated next to Hana, turned and sniffed at the sheet of paper and recoiled at the smell of ink. "There are a few things I need to tell you."

From the bag where they usually kept their Pai Sho set, Shijin brought forth an old map underneath the paper board and wooden tiles. Shijin rolled the parchment open in front of Hana, revealing lands covered with thick ink symbols and scratch marks. On it, Hana could recognize a number of places they had already visited, most recently Hong's village.

"You've been to all of these places?" Hana tried to count all of the small circles on the map, which seemed to indicate small villages. There were also a few other ink marks and characters that Hana couldn't recognize.

"Most of them. I travelled a lot as a kid," Shijin explained. "This map belonged to my mother, so if there's anyone who knows everything about this map, it would be her. She's gone now though, so some of these markings are still a bit of a mystery to me."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Hana said, shifting her shoulders back and forth. "Did you ever try to go to the places you never explored with her?"

"Some, but there are still many left, most of them, as you will notice, are in the north," Shijin pulled an ink set from another bag and put a brush in between his teeth. He pointed at the map. "Now, let's get down to business. We're currently here, a little ways from The Serpent's Lake, which is adjacent to this narrow strip here called the Serpent's Pass. We're heading farther north, across this lake, and into the northern mountains."

Shijin pointed at the large water mass in the middle of the Earth Kingdom, and Hana could kind of tell why it was named after The Serpent's Lake. There were a number of rivers that snaked outwards towards the north and to the west of the lake. The Airbender dotted a spot on the map above the lake with his brush.

"My mother and I hid a small stash of coins in a village on the northeastern side of the lake here, right by the river," Shijin showed. "If it's still there, you'll find it in the local cemetery, under the grave marker named Fang Jin. Don't worry about finding a dead body. My mother and I just made up that name and grave as a reminder. The amount of coins should be enough to last a full season if you use it sparingly."

"Next," Shijin pointed at a different circle, this time at a village further north up the river. "There's a fishing village here. A man by the name of Lao Yu lives there. He is an old friend of my mother's, as he ferried her across The Serpent's Lake once. An excellent Waterbender and an even more excellent cook. If you need his services, just tell him that he can find his payment inside the castle in his fish tank."

"There are also a few roads that you don't want to be taking at this time of year," Shijin placed his hands over the large landmass that formed the northwestern side of the Earth Kingdom. "This land here is completely crawling with Chin's soldiers. We're a bit too close to the place ourselves, so crossing the river into that land is ill advised."

"There are many roads to Ba Sing Se, which is where I hope we end up by the end of fall," Shijin tapped the map. "From Lao Yu's village, it's a simple walk across the plains. From here, it's about a three week journey on foot. Once you're inside, you should use whatever money you have left to take the monorail to the Middle Ring, since the Lower Ring is filled with thieves and bandits. Once you're there, ask around for Bao Qian. He's kind of a hermit. He'll appear intimidating, but just let him know that I want him to repay his debt to me. He'll understand."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Hana stopped Shijin as he was about to continue. "Why does this all sound like you're leaving me?"

"I'm not," Shijin rolled the map up and placed it back into its bag. "These are just some things that I thought I'd go over with you now that we've come this far. It's something my mother always used to do in the off chance that we became separated. Besides, take a look at this."

Shijin snatched up the crumbled sheet of paper that he had tossed aside and showed it to Hana. Immediately, Hana recognized Shijin's face on the front page. Her face was also there below his, though she personally thought that they had slightly exaggerated how tiny her ears were.

"What does it say?" Hana looked at the characters scrawled on the paper. To her they just appeared like pretty lines connected and swirled together. "I can't read it."

"You wanted me to buy Pai Sho books for you, but you can't even read this?" Shijin was taken aback. "It's a wanted poster for us. Your little stunt at that settlement a few weeks ago is probably what caused this. The groggy governor must have woken up later to realize that a girl had openly challenged his and Chin's authority and now wants your head to settle his pride."

"That's why you changed into new clothes," Hana realized.

"Under most circumstances I would've left you long ago in a village inn near Omashu," Shijin sighed, sniffing the food in the boiling pot to see if the food was ready. "But as your teacher, I feel that I have some responsibility to keep you safe. Still, you've put me in quite the position."

Shijin scratched his hair, his eyes closed. When he opened them, he scooped some of the fish from the pot and flung it towards Kupo, who happily chomped away with its teeth. The badgermole had been growing larger recently. What was once a small critter the size of a flying lemur had experienced a spurt that made him the size of a medium grown fire ferret.

"Let's finish this meal and get moving," Shijin decided. "The Wu Jian are fierce pursuers. If there are already wanted posters for us this far from the settlement, then I can only imagine that the governor spent little time before mobilizing his men to track us down. We can resume our lesson at nightfall."

And so, the fall season began. When the pair had left Hong's village, they had been met by a cool wind that swept across the countryside. The grassy plains appeared like blurs of swishing green lines. Already, the breeze had flung leaves off of trees, leaving crunchy shrubberies lying on the main road. They had yet to change color, but Hana suspected that it was only a matter of time. She wished her short hair would grow a little longer for some warmth.

"This is natural here in the north," Shijin explained. "Unlike Omashu, summer doesn't linger at all when fall comes. The north suddenly turns chillier, almost overnight. There's a myth that says that the only time summer stayed here in the north, it scorched the earth barren and drained the lakes dry. There doesn't seem to be much truth to it though."

"Have you ever fought against any?" Hana asked, paying little attention to the wind. "The Wu Jian, I mean."

"They are the type of people that you would be happy to never meet," Shijin said. "Many don't survive the first encounter, because the Wu Jian more often than not are looking for you. As for me, I've had the opportunity of meeting them in battle twice over the years."

"What were they like?" Hana pressed further. "I've seen a few on the roadside before, but I've never seen them doing anything but sleep and talk."

"They are powerful soldiers," Shijin replied with glowering eyes. "Even an Airbender has a hard time running away from them. It's a battle of a lifetime when you run into them. These are people who have realized that their only talents in life are the talents in spilling blood."

"Were they were chasing you?" Hana said.

"No," Shijin said. "They were chasing my mother."

They didn't talk much further about the subject after that. By then they had reached The Serpent's Lake, an enormous mass of water that Shijin said was about as large as the Middle Ring of Ba Sing Se. Countless numbers of boats and fishing villages were built along its shores, and the people here were lively as they herded buckets of fish onto their oxen. It was colder here than anywhere else that Hana had been before, and she realized that many of these people were fishing with the knowledge that a vast portion of the lake would freeze over by the end of fall.

That evening they made camp on a hill that overlooked two rivers, one that flowed towards the Northern Water Tribe, and a thinner one running along towards the outer Fire Nation islands. Small leaves dropped into the fire from a tree above them. Kupo was lying quietly next to the campfire, inching closer and closer to it as the temperature grew colder. When the aroma of cooked fish entered his nose, he circled around the pot hovering over the campfire, his mouth watering and his eyes glittering from the flames.

"Selfish animal," Shijin murmured, stirring the pot with his Airbending. "At least help us make camp every once in a while. You're at the age where you can start Earthbending now, you know that right? And we go through all the trouble to buy exclusively fish for you too."

Kupo cocked his head, and then gave a tiny whine as he rolled over to show his belly. Shijin grudgingly threw a few pieces down, and then turned to Hana, who was staring at the river that flowed towards the setting sun. It was times like these where Hana was completely quiet, no curious expression on her face or questions to ask. Shijin gave little thought to what his student was pondering, but this wasn't the first time that Hana was staring off towards the sunset.

"Hey," Shijin called. The girl flinched, and then turned to look back at him. "The soup's ready."

He scooped the food into a bowl and handed it over to Hana. It was rice porridge with cooked fish and sour vegetables mixed in. They had been buying a little more food than usual, because Shijin had picked up a stash of extra silver at summer's end. He had said that they needed larger meals as winter approached, which was why they would be spending more time outdoors instead of wasting money on expensive northern inns. There was no telling what kind of food they would find up in the north, Shijin had said in passing.

Hana stirred the meal back and forth with her wooden chopsticks, prodding away at the fish and rolling over the vegetables. She bit her lip and looked to the sky, and then finally put a ball of wet porridge into her mouth. The taste of fish, enhanced by the saltiness of the vegetables, filled her mouth with a delicious taste. She rolled the food around in her mouth, chewing slowly before swallowing.

"Shijin," Hana said after another bite. "When are you going to leave me?"

The Airbender paused for a second, and then shrugged.

"Not now at least," Shijin said. "As you are now, you might be able to score at most a little bit under a thirty percent win ratio in pub games, depending on which pubs you choose. Winning money with Pai Sho becomes profitable once you hit above the halfway mark because you begin earning for the amount that you lose, and since pure probability dictates that you win half of the time, most people can never make a living with this."

"So, as much as I hate to admit it, you're under my care for now, and I don't see that changing any time soon," Shijin thrust a piece of fish into his mouth. "It'd be bad if I left you all alone to fend for yourself, especially now that the Wu Jian are pursuing both of us."

"Am I a burden to you then?" Hana put down her food.

"Do you want the honest answer, or do you want me to say no?" Shijin put a hand on Hana's shoulder. "Don't think too much about it. Would you rather be here talking to me over a nicely cooked meal or back in Omashu serving both body and tea those men? You'd definitely want to be here wouldn't you? Then, what's there to complain about?"

"But if it's inconvenient for you," Hana muttered. "Then maybe I should…"

"Leave?" Shijin chuckled, shaking his head. "Cherish the times you are able to act selfish. Those days will come to an end for you soon enough. Now hurry up, before the food gets cold. I want to fit in at least two practice games before it gets too dangerous to leave a campfire on."

"We've had no problems playing late into the night before," Hana noted. "Is it because of the Wu Jian again?"

"It would seem a little suspicious, yes," Shijin pulled out the Pai Sho set and began spreading out the paper board. "Now, quickly. Eat your food."

Afterwards, Shijin spread the paper board over the dirt floor, where the embers from the crackling campfire landed just a few inches away. He divided the Pai Sho tiles into two sets, removed the badgermole tiles from one of them, and then placed that stack on Hana's side of the board.

"Recently, your play is much too aggressive," Shijin rolled the two badgermole tiles in his hand. "You've been much too reliant on these tiles to defend you when the going gets tough and ignoring the fact that your wheels and sky bison have defensive capabilities as well. Tonight, I want you to play without the badgermole tiles."

"What's wrong with just using the badgermole to defend?" Hana asked. "That's what the tile is made for, right?"

"Wrong," Shijin shook his head. "Most people make the mistake of thinking that Pai Sho and its pieces are divided into different types. Attack, defend, control. This is the wrong philosophy to have. Pai Sho is a game of flow, where your tiles work together to achieve multiple goals at the same time. Now, let's try it. To make things fair, I'll refrain from using badgermole tiles myself."

Without a badgermole to play, Hana tossed a wheel tile onto the board, placing it in the middle of the closest of four triangles that made up the center square on the board. Shijin tossed a sky bison tile on his leftmost corner, and Hana responded with a chrysanthemum tile to block the exit. Her teacher placed another sky bison on the other corner of the board, and Hana placed a bison of her own diagonally across from Shijin's.

"Oh?" Shijin smirked and pointed at Hana's bison. "Can you tell me why I think that's a good move?"

"Because I didn't waste my time placing anymore chrysanthemum tiles?" Hana speculated. "Or is it because there's a good move I can make next turn?"

"Not exactly," Shijin pointed at Hana's chrysanthemum tile. "A common follow up to blocking one of the sky bison is for a player to place a wheel tile adjacent to the chrysanthemum tile. Then one would place a white lotus tile the following turn, because you can't take any flowers until your white lotus has been played, and you can't take any non-flower tiles until both white lotuses have been played."

"Both players would then start placing more tiles around the chrysanthemum, whether it is to take the tile or to defend it," Shijin explained. "The end result of this situation is often that the chrysanthemum becomes abandoned, because other sky bison tiles are moved onto the field and both players are forced to turn to other objectives rather than focusing on defending a tile that already served its purpose. It might seem useless, but this is a common method in deploying one's tiles in formation."

"However," Shijin pointed at this second sky bison. "I did not follow the common opening, and instead placed a sky bison to move out the very next turn. Therefore, trying to place wheels to defend your chrysanthemum would be useless, because the sky bison can easily bypass all of your wheels and prepare setting up for your lotus deployment. You need a sky bison of your own to zone out my tile."

"Zone?" Hana asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Sky bison are territorial animals," Shijin said. "They travel together as families, and they don't very often allow other herds of bison in unless under special circumstances. In Pai Sho, the same idea applies. Your bison has a territory the same size as the spaces he is allowed to travel in. The rules state that no other bison is allowed to step in that zone once the bison is outside of its corner. It's a way to limit the sky bison's mobility and power on the field."

"This is new," Hana looked at her sky bison with renewed interest. "Then again, I've never come across another player who used the sky bison so quickly."

"It's because the wheel is a lot more powerful in the earlier stages of the game," Shijin pointed at the outline that formed countless squares on the board. "The wheel is able to jump between the spaces to the other lines and move accordingly, but the sky bison is only allowed to move on these lines. In the later stages of the game, when all tiles are on the board, wheels lose their effectiveness because their movements are easily predicted and blocked."

"Well, in other words, intentional or not," Shijin finished. "Putting a sky bison here as a counter response to mine is a good move. Your bison is just as good a defensive tile as any other. If you move it out properly, I won't get in any position to touch your wheels at all."

It was always like this. Shijin would occasionally stop Hana to comment on just one move before carrying on with the game. The comments were brief and often bore a lot of good insight, but aside from them, Shijin rarely ever talked until the game was over. His eyes were fixated on the board, one hand perched over a piece he would play next, and the other hand curled up in a fist that supported his chin.

Hong had said that when Hana learned the story of the Xi brothers, then she'd be able to understand Shijin a lot more just by watching his tiles. But even now, his moves were a mystery. His play appeared like nothing more than play aimed at victory. Hana felt nothing from the tiles as they were placed on the board, and she couldn't tell if it was because of her own misunderstandings or if Hong had been wrong all along.

They continued. Shijin slapped down a wheel tile to the right of Hana's chrysanthemum, forcing Hana to deploy a wheel on the left most side of the center square. Shijin added another wheel tile, this time setting it on the other side, a space below the sky bison exit on the top right corner of the board. Hana then set her white lotus tile behind her wheel tile.

"It's a bit too early for that," Shijin noted. "If you had badgermoles in this game, it would make more sense. But you have to look out for things like this."

Shijin set his own white lotus tile behind the wheel that sat adjacent to the chrysanthemum. Hana, not understanding what Shijin meant, decided to place her second sky bison tile on the right hand side. When she looked back, expecting Shijin's stoic face, she saw a wide grin beaming back at her. Shijin pushed his sky bison tile that wasn't blocked by Hana's chrysanthemum out of the corner and down five spaces.

It was then that Hana realized how dangerous of a position she was in. Her white lotus tile was completely exposed to the sky bison tile, while her own bison was stuck inside the corner, trapped by her opponent's sky bison and its zone. Her wheel tile wouldn't be enough to defend against the sky bison, and since she didn't have a badgermole, she couldn't protect the flower. In retaliation, Hana threw a late chrysanthemum next to Shijin's recently deployed sky bison, freezing it in place.

Shijin's next move was instantaneous. He moved his wheel tile on the right side one step to the left so that it was aligned with the chrysanthemum that was blocking his sky bison. At this point, the wheel would take the chrysanthemum next turn without contest, because Shijin's sky bison would be there to defend the wheel when it took the flower. Hana's only chance was to move out with her first sky bison. She slid the tile out its corner and moved it to the right four spaces, placing her own white lotus and wheel tile in the bison's protective zone.

The Airbender slid his wheel on the left side to the right so that it was threatening Hana's recently moved sky bison.

Hana put her hands behind her and leaned against the dirt. Every important piece of hers was under attack. If she moved her sky bison out of its current position, Shijin could move his sky bison to further zone out her bison, which would put her white lotus tile back in immediate danger. If she didn't move her bison, it was gone the very next turn, and Hana would be out of options. If she attempted to defend with her wheel tile, it was clear that she would lose the exchange, as Shijin still had control over the chrysanthemum tile blocking his first sky bison.

"I concede," Hana chuckled, folding her white lotus tile over in defeat. "I can't do this without a badgermole to help me defend."

"You overextend a lot," Shijin motioned over Hana's half of the board. "Look at how spread out your pieces are. In some games, the center is important, but in a game like Pai Sho, where pieces can maneuver around it easily, it's less so. Look at my setup. Concentrated areas on two sides of the board, completely impenetrable, while your lotus is way out in front."

"This is what I mean by too aggressive," Shijin continued. "You place a wheel in the middle and then your white lotus there a few moves later. Strategically speaking, this would be fine if you had badgermoles, but since you don't, you trying to control the middle would be pointless, especially since you allowed my sky bison to roam free."

Shijin returned all the tiles to their positions before he had moved his sky bison out of the corner.

"You wasted a move here by placing the lotus too early," Shijin held up the tile. "What you should have done is predicted where I would've taken my sky bison with, and moved this wheel accordingly."

The nomad took the wheel in the middle and moved it to the right.

"This way," Shijin moved his sky bison out onto the board, this time towards the center. "I'd be forced to move here, which allows you to move out your first bison tile and help secure your second. Now you have more control over the center, which lets you play your lotus tile with little worry. You need to play defensive when you're down pieces."

"But what's the point of telling me this," Hana asked. "If all of these problems can be fixed when I play badgermoles?"

"The point of this lesson wasn't just to show you that other tiles could defend and fortify your formation," Shijin replied. "It was also to show you how important every move is. Notice how if you had just changed one move, the game would've taken a completely different turn. The game moves quickly, and timing is important. You need to learn when to move your pieces at the right time. Come on, let me show you in this next game. I'll let you use your-"

Shijin fell silent. In the far distance, the sound of quickly beating hooves reached the hill. Shijin twirled his wrists and used his Airbending to extinguish the campfire. He used another gust to dissipate the smoke. The hooves grew louder, and under the moonlit sky Hana could make out the silhouettes of men riding on ostrich horses. Their faces were masked by their conical hats, their arms covered by long dark green sleeves. Some of them had quivers and bows strapped on their steeds, others with spears hanging from their backs.

"Looks like our next game will have to wait till morning," Shijin quietly wrapped the tiles and board together and placed them back in the bag. "Get some rest. They shouldn't be able to spot us here."

After brushing aside some prickly leaves and rocks, Shijin and Hana lied against the tree. Opening his new duffel bag, Shijin brought out a pair of blankets and wrapped them around him and his student. Kupo crawled underneath and wrapped himself in a small portion of the sheets.

"It's not much," Shijin closed his eyes. "But it should keep us warm."

"Shijin, what do the Wu Jian do to the people they find," Hana snuggled into her covers, covering her nose and mouth. "Do they-"

"Get killed?" Shijin looked up. There were a few stars out tonight. "That's the idea."

"I'm scared," Hana was shivering, and she was pretty sure it wasn't because the weather was freezing. She leaned a bit closer to Shijin and held tight onto his arm. "You really aren't going to leave me right?"

"There's nothing to be scared of. I'm here, and the Wu Jian are more likely to check the inns for us," Shijin watched the five men in the distance. They rode into town, first stopping at a street vendor selling nightly snacks. "Just sleep. There's no point in frightening yourself to death and not be able to move in the morning when it actually matters."

"And what if they come here during the night?" Hana asked.

"You really are one to despair aren't you?" Shijin sighed, then lifted the blankets off of him and wrapped them around Hana. "Fine, I get it. I'll keep watch. Now just get some rest."

After grabbing his Airbender robes from the packs surrounding the unlit campfire, Shijin hopped onto the tree branches above Hana. He placed the robes around him for some extra heat and then situated his eyes on the Wu Jian soldiers. The girl below him, shivering just a little bit less now, finally closed her eyes.

"A selfish badgermole and a selfish girl," Shijin rubbed his shoulders. "I guess my time to be selfish truly has come to an end."

A few hours later, Hana was sleeping soundly below him, with Kupo making occasional snoring noises. The lights in the town down the hill were still partially lit, and with his ears, Shijin could barely hear the neighing of ostrich horses as the Wu Jian moved from one inn to the next. There were dozens of inns strapped to the coast of the Serpent's Lake, and since Shijin had not visited any of the villages, he suspected that the Wu Jian would travel east when their search was over.

"That way, they'll head towards Ba Sing Se," Shijin mumbled. "And we'll lose them by taking a boat across the river."

As the horses grew softer, a sign that the Wu Jian were moving to inns further and further from them, Shijin turned his attention to the rivers that Hana had been watching that afternoon. Though his eyes were drooping ever so slightly, Shijin himself didn't feel the lure of sleep. It had been a while since he had been forced to stay up during the night time, but the ability came back to him quickly.

"An Earth Kingdom girl with amber eyes whose stare is eternally facing the west," Shijin snatched a twig from a nearby branch and put it in his mouth. Without the moon, it would have been difficult to spot the small river coasting towards the Fire Nation. "I think it'd be unsafe to abandon someone like her anywhere in the Earth Kingdom."

He pulled out the map that he shown Hana that afternoon. He traced the route that he had intended for the two of them, across the lake, up the river, then deep into the mountains. His fingers stopped at the very peak of the Earth Kingdom, at the Northern Air Temple. His other hand tapped the landmass to the west.

"Still, there's no real point in bringing her along for something like this," Shijin whispered. "I could leave her at Lao Yu's place, and he'll ferry her to Ba Sing Se. She'd be safe with Bao Qian for a while, though she might have a heart attack when she founds out who he is, not that he'd ever reveal it though."

The sound of the horses vanished. The Wu Jian were finally gone. A gust of wind blew leaves out of the tree, many of them falling on Hana's hair. After the rustling of leaves ended, it was dead quiet. Not a cricket chirped in the middle of night. Even Kupo's snores had ended. In the midst of this tranquility, Shijin put a hand to his forehead and frowned.

"Then again, if she's already this worked up over the mere thought of me leaving her," Shijin leaned back and took a deep breath. "What must it be like when it's time for us to actually part? Besides, I don't want to say it, but with her around, there are actually things to do."

Shijin closed his eyes, his decision confirmed. Almost instantly, sleep embraced him.

That morning, Shijin awoke once again to the smell of cooked fish. He shook his head a few times, groaned at a minor headache he had sustained from leaning hard against the tree, and then hopped down. Scratching his messy hair, he stared at the restarted campfire. Hana was humming a tune while stirring the pot with a ladle.

"I don't remember buying any leftover fish," Shijin rubbed his eyes. "Where did you get the fish?"

"When I woke up this morning, they were lying next to Kupo," Hana shrugged. "He must have gone off in the middle of the night and took some."

"_Stole_ some sounds a lot more like it. This sly mole," Shijin corrected. A little too groggy to scold the badgermole, who paced anxiously around the pot, he sat down next to Hana. "Whatever. Let's just eat. We still have to continue our lesson."

Their morning continued like it always had. It was one thing the Wu Jian didn't change. Their banter in the morning, their discovery of new food that was expertly taken by a sneaky badgermole, the games that they played before continuing on their journey.

That all didn't change. Shijin found himself surprised to find that he didn't want it to.

_To be continued…_


	7. Lesson Seven

**Lesson Seven: Concealed Deployment, Part One**

* * *

><p>That night was a full moon, the end of the first month in fall. There were many clouds drifting in the sky, and when they covered the moon, it was like a lighthouse flashing its lanterns on and off to signal ships that land was close. That light shined on two people facing one another on flat grassland.<p>

The breeze picked up speed, and the smell of grass and weeds flung from their weak roots filled the air. The wind turned into gusts, and from the hill overlooking the plains, Hana could see the air take the shape of sharp blades. They crashed into one another, cut open flowers, and flung dirt into the air, but none of them touched the two silhouettes standing ever so silently.

Gusts turned to gales, and the entire field of grass looked like it would be flattened by the torrents of air swirling around. Hana held Kupo close to her, afraid that if she didn't, the howling winds would sweep the badgermole away from her. The tree branches above her shook violently, and Hana closed her eyes to prevent anything from falling into them.

Then, everything fell silent. The winds stopped their violent rampage, and the grass, dirt, and flowers that had been thrown recklessly into the air slowly drifted back to the earth. Hana opened her eyes, and stared at her teacher, who was standing across from a woman with Airbender tattoos traced over her body.

She had never seen such a grave expression on Shijin's face. Behind his close lips, Hana could tell that his teeth were clenched as tightly as they could. His closed eyes, while not bearing a semblance of anger, concealed the feelings of a man about to make a regrettable error. His forehead was creased, as if he desperately reached for a way out of his predicament.

"You brought this on yourself," said the woman with tattoos. She twirled her staff and then struck into the ground. With a deep breath, she bent her knees and put her palms forward in a fighting stance. "Don't worry. In accordance with the customs of the Western Air Temple, justice shall be dealt swiftly."

Hana looked at Shijin, and then at the staff that was leaning on the tree behind her. Her hands shook, her heart pounded, so much so that Kupo began whining and struggled until he was out of her palms and lying next to her. But even Kupo, when touching the ground and feeling the presence of the woman standing face to face with Shijin, began to growl.

Shijin's eyes remained closed.

"I am the third council member of the Western Air Temple," the woman proclaimed, her eyes aflame with fury. "Seigi Nohito."

"Here I come!"

* * *

><p><em>A week earlier…<em>

* * *

><p>"I don't think I'm suited for this kind of travel."<p>

Hana leaned over the side of the boat, her mouth wide open as she gripped the wooden edges of the small gondola. It was only now that she was thankful to Shijin for starving her before they set sail across the river. She gagged a few times, but that was the worst of it. Kupo lied down beside her, choosing to sleep away the journey across the river rather than stay awake and feel the fear of not being able to see.

After their near encounter with the infamous Wu Jian, Shijin had decided that the safest course of action was to turn west and take a boat into Chin's homeland. This time, however, Shijin decided that it would be best to stay for at least two days in each village they visited along the coast.

"Nothing says suspicious more," Shijin had said. "Then two people jumping from one village to the next too quickly."

At first, Hana had questioned Shijin's sudden decision to cross into the northwestern Earth Kingdom.

"I thought we were heading north," Hana noted, staring at the shore on the other side of the river. "Didn't you say that this was a dangerous place for me to come to?"

"As long as you're with me, it shouldn't be a problem. Besides, either way we're heading north once we land," Shijin said. "It's not like the Wu Jian will expect us to head deep into their own territory, so it'll throw them off for at least a few days as they search the eastern border for us. Airbenders travelling from the Western Temple also come through here before roaming into the Earth Kingdom. It'll be hard for them to search for us."

"Why is that?" Hana asked. "Why would they come here when they could just travel south?"

"There are a few reasons," Shijin replied. "Chin doesn't give much attention to the Airbenders, since they've done nothing to provoke him. The winds also make it easy to travel here, whereas the winds are less favorable southward and take more effort for less experienced nomads, especially ones without bison. Finally, there are some, not many, but some Airbenders who come here to travel north instead of south. About as close to an adventurer as a nomad can get."

They were crossing one of the narrower rivers that stemmed from the Serpent's Lake. It flowed towards the Fire Nation and isolated a large portion of the Earth Kingdom. For Hana, though, the half of an hour of sitting in a boat seemed to take forever. She wanted to ask the ferryman to speed up, but the man appeared old and feeble, barely keeping the boat stable against the currents of the river.

Even so, there was no time for rest when they arrived ashore. As soon as Hana set foot on land, before she could even take a look at the land that gave birth to Chin the Conqueror, Shijin had already motioned for her to start walking. He flipped a pair of silver coins to the ferryman, whispered something in his ear, and then gave a deep bow as the old man watched them leave with widened eyes.

"We're going to make our way toward the first major city you'll have seen since Omashu," Shijin stated before Hana could even ask about the Airbender's conversation with the old man. "The city of Taku, the jewel of this part of the kingdom. It stands in the middle of that mountain range there, and is a bustling stop for merchants, and if we're unlucky, Air Nomads."

"You always talk about them like that," Hana noted. "The Air Nomads I mean. You are one too right?"

"I guess if you consider 'Air Nomad' as a particular nationality or race, perhaps," Shijin replied. "But as someone who's been exiled from the temples and stripped of all previous statuses, I guess you could say that I'm not really an Air Nomad anymore."

"Well, you've said it quite a few times now, so if you don't mind me asking," Hana couldn't deny that this question had been on her mind for a while now. "Why were you exiled?"

"It's complicated, and I don't say that because I don't want to tell you. It's just not worth the effort to tell," Shijin shrugged. "All you need to know is that my people suffered because of me, and because they couldn't deal with that, they cast me out. It goes much deeper than that, of course, and there are also the stories by the nomads who will probably depict me differently."

"Will any Airbenders confront us if they find out who you are," Hana asked. "We haven't met one yet, but you make it sound like something really terrible happened. Are we prepared?"

"If there are any who pose an immediate danger," Shijin thought about it. "It'd have to be the Airbenders from the Western Air Temple. It's the birthplace of Yangchen, who was one of the few Avatars from the Air Nomads who did more than just spread the word of peace and nonviolence. Their council members are into petty ideals that Yangchen dealt with. Justice, righteous punishment, things like that. One of them is particularly fierce. Now, enough of these questions. Let's get a move on before the Wu Jian catch us because we're lingering for too long."

In the end, Shijin didn't answer her, and Hana was left with the same questions as they walked the long road towards Taku. She didn't mind too much, of course. After all, she hadn't told Shijin anything about her past either.

Along the way, Hana took in the sight of Chin's lands with great detail. It was different from the wasteland that she had imagined the warlord had grown up in. It was a land of rich farmland, especially along the rivers that Shijin and Hana followed towards the mountains lying in the north.

Here, there were far fewer trees than the mainland, and much more grasslands and prairies for animals to live on. Every day, Hana would see the local farmers herding cattle across the yellowing fields, fattening up their livestock in preparation for the winter. Hana also saw more women here than before, sometimes even managing the wild animals on their own.

"Naturally," Shijin once looked at one of the women, who covered her face with a straw bamboo hat as she watched a pair of cow pigs grazing on her fields. "Most of them have either watched their husbands leave for war, or are helping those that are too wounded to keep the farm running. The few men who work alone are more often than not retired soldiers who have already served their part in Chin's war."

"I thought Chin would have them fight until the war was over," Hana said. "He seems like the type of person to do that."

"Chin might be cruel in war and battle, but he knows what he's doing at home too," Shijin replied. "You'll find that there are plenty of people here who either care little about Chin's little war south or are even satisfied with his rule."

Sure enough, in the towns that they visited at the foot of the mountains, there was no sign of the death and famine that many people in the mainland seemed to be suffering from. The spoils of war, Shijin put it bluntly. Those at home prospered from the riches that Chin conquered and took from those that opposed him.

It took them another five days to journey through the mountains. The road was comfortable, if one could call a mountain road that. Often times Hana and Shijin would sleep with travelling merchants who brought along large carts of things to sell. During the day, these same merchants would stop at noon to lay out a blanket and place all of their merchandise on it. There must have been dozens of them that lined the roads, and Hana found that this way of life was much different from the one in Omashu.

However, when they arrived at Taku, Hana realized how closely it resembled her former home. It was built into the landscape, a city as tall as the mountains themselves. While the city wasn't barricaded with massive walls like Omashu, there were multiple levels to the city, separated by terraces that had been carved out of the mountain. There were a number of winding stairs that led to the top of the mountain, allowing people to freely move from one level to the next.

It was a city teeming with activity, and it reminded Hana almost too much of home.

"The city's levels are divided in such a way that there will never be a problem with crowding," Shijin pointed at each terrace. "The lower levels are all regular shops and homes, whereas the middle and upper terraces are mostly government offices, antique stores, and higher quality inns. We happen to be going to be heading over to one of those antique shops now."

After a strenuous climb that left only Hana out of breath, they found themselves standing in front of a wooden door, a golden plaque with the characters _Gu Wan Dian_ carved on it. Red curved tiles lined the roof, supported by wooden buttresses and earth walls. Shijin knocked three times and waited for an answer.

Moments later, a young girl's voiced shouted from the inside.

"Come in," said the voice. "The door's unlocked."

When they entered, they came across dozens of little trinkets lining the shelves. Kupo immediately ran to a little badgermole statue and began poking the nose with its claws. Plates lined with silver, crests of earth kings long passed, and even priceless Airbender staffs lied on shelves and leaned against the walls. In the corner of the room, a cat was drinking milk from a plate.

At the counter at the back of the shop, the owner of the voice was cleaning off dusty statues with a brush. She was wearing a pair of glasses as she inspected the statues, and her body clothed by an old brown apron. There was a strange white streak on the left side of her black hair whose shape almost resembled a sword's blade. She looked far too young to be running an antique store.

"Wow," said the girl, who looked up from her work momentarily. "Never expected anyone to visit the shop during this time of day. Usually they all come at night because they're scared of carrying too much money during the day. Are you looking to buy anything, or maybe you want to sell that staff of yours?"

"I'm looking for Ji Zhi," Shijin said. "Do you happen to know him? He runs the shop here."

"He's my father," the girl took off her glasses. "I'm his daughter, Huang Gua. I'm sorry, but he died quite a few years ago. I assume you're an old friend of his? Sorry about that. What did you need him for?"

"I came here to collect a debt that he owes," Shijin rubbed his eyes as he heard the news. "Though I assume that since you were still a child back then, you probably wouldn't remember what exactly happened."

"My father had no debts to anyone upon his death," said Huang Gua. "I'm afraid you've mistaken the wrong person. Perhaps there is another Ji Zhi in this city who was not as responsible as my father was with his money."

"No need to make it personal," Shijin held out a hand in concession. "The debt I am referring to isn't about money. It's more of a life debt."

"Explain," the girl narrowed her eyes, as if she was ready to kick the two of them out.

"If you want me to, please stop your cat from drinking from the plate," Shijin pointed at the animal in the corner, who hissed at Kupo whenever the badgermole tried to get close to drink. "Then I'll show you what I'm talking about."

"I'm not understanding where this is going," Huang walked over to the cat, grabbed a ball of yarn from one of the shelves and rolled it away from the plate. The cat quickly licked up the last drops in the plate and chased after its plaything. She showed the plate to Shijin. "Here."

"This is actually an Airbending training tool," Shijin flipped the plate upside down to reveal a small hole on the bottom. "Airbenders are trained to concentrate and keep their bodies in a constant state of balance. As a result, they put their fingers in like this and see how long they can keep the plate spinning with it flying out of control. It's a fun exercise for kids."

"Your father saw me practicing with this one day and begged my mother for it," Shijin continued. "When asked why, he said that his lady friend loved the Air Nomad culture after they had visited Taku once. He said that it would be the perfect wedding proposal."

"My mother agreed to sell, not by coins," Shijin placed the plate in front of Huang. "But by obligation."

"What obligation did my father agree to?" Huang felt the frame of the plate, suddenly mesmerized that she hadn't noticed the artifact before.

"To protect me," Shijin answered. "When I called for it. Well, since he's dead there's not much reason for me to ask for a favor from his daughter, who has nothing to do with the pact. Though I must say that if it wasn't for this, you might have not been born at all. Let's go Hana. We'll just have to do this like we usually do."

"Wait!" Huang Gua shouted after them as they headed for the door. They turned around. "It might not mean much, but if you're looking for a place to stay, you can use the room that my mother and father left behind. I can also cook a nice dinner. It's the least I can do after showing me this."

The Airbender contemplated the offer for a few moments. The girl placed the plate on top of a shelf with what appeared to be some of the shiniest and most recent artifacts that had come through the shop. She turned back to Shijin, put her glasses back on, and awaited his decision.

"Hana," Shijin dropped one of his bags on the floor. "Unpack these for me. I'll be back in a few hours."

And with that, Shijin was out the door, his usual bag of Pai Sho tiles strapped to his waist. Hana picked up the blankets and clothes in the second bag and followed Huang, who led her up the stairs to a large bedroom. There was a large window with a view of the entire mountainside below. The color in the room was calming beige, with different types of fur hanging from the wall.

In the middle of the room was a large bed, enough to fit two people. A fluffy chair stood next to the bed, and Kupo immediately found it and jumped on it, feeling the soft surface before closing his eyes to sleep again. He had been sleeping more recently, and Shijin suggested that perhaps it was because the creature was preparing to grow even more.

"Is he always like that?" said Huang, who brought out a few blankets from a nearby wardrobe. "Or does he just not like me?"

"Who, Shijin?" Hana replied. "I wouldn't say that he doesn't like you, but I can't really say much beyond that. Sorry, I'm still not quite sure of what he's really thinking."

"How long have you been travelling with him?" Huang asked.

"A few months now. Around the middle of summer I would say," Hana answered, helping Huang spread the sheets over the bed. "I've been learning Pai Sho from him this entire time."

"Pai Sho?" Huang looked surprised. "Now that's a game I haven't played in quite a long time, and it's the first time in a long time that I've seen someone around my age other than an Air Nomad pick up the game. How old are you by the way?"

"To be honest," Hana chuckled, her cheeks red. "I actually don't know. I was taken to a brothel and forced to work there at a young age, and nobody ever told me when I was born. If I had to say though, I guess sixteen or seventeen would be my closest guess."

"You were kidnapped?" Huang put a hand to her mouth. "Spirits, that must've been horrible."

"No," Hana shook her head. "That's not what happened. It was more like my parents left me there."

"I'm sorry," Huang looked away. "I don't know what to say."

"There's nothing really to say," Hana shrugged, her eyes calm. "They cried as they left me there, as if they didn't know that they were leaving me in one of the foulest places in Omashu. A few years later, I'm told by the store owner, who he said knew my parents very well, that my mother had died and had left me a few things. I never bothered opening any of it though. Come to think of it, it's probably still in that house."

There was a short silence between them, where Hana thought about the destroyed whorehouse and wondered if her room was still intact, while Huang wondered if she should just leave. The stillness in the room didn't last long though.

"Speaking of which, you were talking about Pai Sho. Do you play? If you have a set, we can play a few games," Hana suggested. "It'll help break this awkward tension we've built up."

"No, no, no," Huang laughed, waving her off. She led Hana down the stairs toward the kitchen. "That's a game I gave up playing quite a long time ago. I'd much prefer if you helped me with the cooking. Nothing calms the soul more than the nice smell of cooked food."

* * *

><p>Shijin headed down to the bazaar at the bottom of the city, where shop keepers and traders advertised their merchandise. There were a few animals and food stands carted around from place to place, but the wares were mostly related to pottery, equipment and currency exchange. There were merchants with scales placed on the floor, along with coins that came from the Fire Nation.<p>

"Get your best exchange fees here at Kamal's Vintage Exchange," called one merchant. "Cheap and easy exchange for just one copper Fire Nation piece."

Shijin ignored this part of the plaza and moved to the other side, where the animals and food shops were located. Seating himself in an open space between two animal traders, he spread a green sheet over the stone floor and pulled out his Pai Sho tiles. When he placed a pot of Pai Sho tiles on his opponent's side, people immediately began to surround the Air Nomad and began seating themselves, one after another, for a few rounds of the game. Shijin's first opponent matched the silver piece tossed on the side, and the games began.

Like always, Shijin won the games handily. Casual merchants and farmers willing to spare a coin would never match up to a player of his caliber after all. As his earnings grew, Shijin reduced the silver piece he was betting down to smaller copper pieces, as there were people becoming wary of betting a silver coin against a player that seemed impossible to beat.

The afternoon wore on, the heat from the sun diminished by the air that cruised through the wide open marketplace and the clouds above. Many traders brought umbrellas or set up a canopy above their stalls in the event that it rained. As for Shijin, his only preparation was the hood attached to his robes, and that wouldn't last very long if it rained hard.

By the time evening came, the clouds had gathered in full force, and occasionally Shijin would feel a drip on his forehead. Many of his opponents had come and gone, either returning to their stalls to continue selling after a short break, or packing up their things and leaving. Shijin too, as he looked at the setting sun, casting an orange glow in the grey skyline, thought about leaving.

Then, a staff dropped on the ground in front of Shijin. Its thin wooden frame, spiral symbols, and hidden compartments suggested that it was an Airbender's glider. A young woman, no older than Shijin, dropped to her knees in front of him, her eyes closed and her hands steady. When she opened her eyes, the flare in them betrayed the tranquil expression sketched everywhere else on her face.

"Of all the people to find me here," Shijin's left hand moved cautiously towards his staff behind him. "I would've hoped to not see you again until the end."

"An old nomad who was on his first pilgrimage to the temples," she said, picking up the Pai Sho tiles. "Told the Western Council that he had played Pai Sho with an Airbender using his glider the way Waterbenders use boards to surf the tides. I can only imagine who the only Airbender to use his glider like that was doing here in the north?"

"Sightseeing, and as you can see," Shijin flipped a few tiles around. "Playing Pai Sho."

"Liar," she snarled.

"You want to know the real reason?" Shijin raised an eyebrow and flashed a crumbled wanted poster he had kept in his pack. "It's because I've been on a little journey with an obnoxious girl who's gone and infuriated the Wu Jian. I would've taken her to Ba Sing Se, but they headed down that road a few days ago. I've had no choice but to come here."

"You're being chased by the Wu Jian?" her eyes widened. "That's ironic."

"Enough with the jokes," Shijin sighed, his hands finally relaxed and returning to their original position. "Why are you really here? The Western Temple doesn't send anyone from the council unless it's really important. What are you up to?"

"I've come of my own accord and judgment," she said, and finally slapped a tile down on the board. It was a wheel tile placed one space to the right of the center of the board. "Even if I were to believe that you were travelling with a girl across the Earth Kingdom for spirits knows what reason, there's no doubt in my mind that you wouldn't come this far north without a good reason."

Shijin contemplated his opponent's move for a second. It was a strange move, but experience told him that his opponent had prepared a specific strategy and wasn't just haphazardly placing tiles. He decided to play defensive and lay down a badgermole immediately on his side of the board.

"So?" Shijin lifted his finger off the tile. "Why do you think I'm walking around the most dangerous place on earth?"

"Shijin," she said, placing another wheel tile, this time one space to the left of the center of the board. "You're headed to the Northern Air Temple aren't you? You're going to see your father?"

"And?" Shijin frowned at the strange tile placement. He definitely hadn't seen this tile deployment before. Perhaps a new strategy created by the Air Nomads? "What if my intention was to go see my father, who I haven't seen since my exile?"

"An exile isn't allowed to enter the temples," she clenched her fists. "You know this. We may view the world through the eyes of pacifism, but our traditions are absolute. If you intend on going, I will render you incapable if you insist."

"Are you sure this isn't about," Shijin paused for a moment, then slapped down a sky bison tile to his right corner. "Your promise to avenge-"

"That's in the past," she cut Shijin off, slapping down a chrysanthemum tile as she did. "Do you want to know how I recognized you, Shijin? You look different now. You've grown since I saw you five years ago. Your hair grew even longer than before, your body has fitted itself to the land, and you've grown taller too."

She and Shijin locked their stares. He set down a wheel tile one space above his badgermole. She placed a white lotus tile in the center of the board. He laid his three spaces behind his badgermole. She responded with a sky bison, and he responded with one of his own. When she moved out, so did he. She placed a badgermole behind the white lotus, and he moved his wheel up the board so that the badgermole was in the wheel's line of attack. She placed a chrysanthemum tile right next to it, which was in line with the wheel at the center of the board.

Throughout this, their eyes never seemed to drift away from the other.

"It's your eyes," she said. "Those eyes that look at nothing but revenge. As I thought, even now, that's all that's left of you, those eyes that only have a single goal, a single sight. To think that I used to…to think I still…"

She bit her lip, her eyes breaking the stare, as if she was embarrassed.

"You say you're travelling around with this girl," she tried restarting the conversation. "What is she to you?"

"Am I really that terrible of a person that I'd pull some outsider into my own affairs?" Shijin snapped. "What if I told you that I'm just teaching her how to play Pai Sho until she can use it the way I do?"

"I'd say you're lying," she replied. "Besides, I've always been a better Pai Sho player than you have been. I can rid you of your burden right now. I'll take her on myself and teach her."

Shijin's hand stopped, his fingers rubbing the second wheel tile he was about to put into play. However, what was surprising to Shijin was how much reluctance he felt about the idea. The feeling was so strong that he felt almost inclined to tell the tattooed lady in front of him to just leave.

"Either way," as if she had read Shijin's mind, the Airbender stood up before Shijin could place the tile. "You're going nowhere near the Northern Temple. Not on my watch. If you decide to head there, don't think my past with you is going to keep me from dealing justice when needed."

She picked up her staff, strapped it to her back and began to walk off. Then, she remembered something, turned back to Shijin, and pointed at the board.

"My victory was guaranteed the minute you attacked my badgermole by the way," she said. "Bring the wheel protecting my chrysanthemum down, then the sky bison down to zone your bison. Then move my second wheel on my right down. You'll notice that none of the moves you make afterwards matter. It's a concealed aggressive tactic that gives the ruse of a defensive deployment. I came up with it."

When she was gone, Shijin quickly moved the tiles around to confirm. He moved her first wheel tile down to threaten his badgermole, then after responding by defending with his second wheel, he sent her sky bison closer to the middle of the board, where its zone now overlapped with his sky bison. He then moved her second wheel down to assault his white lotus, and realized that there were no feasible moves to defend against the attack.

"This is an interesting diversion," Shijin murmured. "She purposely left her badgermole ill defended because it wasn't even part of her plan. Then, since I'm down a wheel tile since I sent it up to attack, she now has one additional tile in her attack, which means every trade with her pieces is unfavorable for me."

Shijin clucked his tongue, and then began cleaning up his tiles and board. When he stood to leave, the Airbender was out of his sight, but Shijin knew that she couldn't be too far from him. By the time Shijin was done and walking the stairs back up the mountainside of Taku, rain had finally begun to drizzle. When he reached the doors to Huang Gao's shop, the rain had begun to pour.

"Where were you?" Hana puffed out her cheeks when she answered the door. She looked at Shijin's slightly wet clothes. "We almost had to skip dinner without you!"

That night, while they ate, Hana and Huang laughed over a variety of things. Huang told stories of her childhood, often recollecting on the memories that got her interesting in the field of selling rare and ancient artifacts. Many times she referred to Ji Zhi, her father. Hana seemed excited by every story, and urged Huang to always continue.

Shijin, on the other hand, sat quietly, rarely even listening to the two of them. All he could think about was how he had been tricked so thoroughly by her play and her threat to face him should he continue to head north. By the time Shijin finished his food, he had spent so much time meandering through his thoughts that the bottom of the nicely cooked stew had turned cold.

"Huang is such a great person," Hana said later that night as the two sat in the room provided to them. "If only I was born to a father like Ji Zhi, then I wouldn't have had to put up with everything that happened as I was growing up. Shijin, aren't we practicing tonight?"

Shijin was already lying on the fluffy chair next to the bed, a blanket wrapped around his body, his eyes starting to close.

"Shijin," Hana pointed at the bed. "You know that this is a bed for two people right?"

"Hana," Shijin muttered wearily, ignoring her previous comment. "What if there was someone that was better than me at Pai Sho?"

"Isn't that natural?" Hana asked. "There's always someone better than you right? And there's always someone better than that person. It'd be strange if you were the best Pai Sho player ever."

"Don't you want to learn Pai Sho from the best?" Shijin lifted his head, raising one eye to look at Hana, who was looking down at him, her hands on her waists. "It'd be so much better that way. You'd improve a lot more, and you'd win a lot more too."

"That's true," Hana nodded her head. "But in the end I guess I'd rather like a teacher who can lose and at least learn from his mistakes. My mother always said that being the best was just about not learning anything until someone beat you with something new."

"Your mother sounds like a smart person," Shijin nodded, relaxing a little. "I'm sure that's something my mother might say too."

"If she was smart she wouldn't have left me in that place," Hana shrugged, and then hopped onto the bed. "She would've known that I could help her out, or I could've travelled with her. Did you know that my father…hey Shijin? Are you listening?"

When she looked up, she saw that for the first time in their journey together, Shijin had fallen asleep before her.

"He must be really tired from today," Hana walked up to Shijin and pulled the blanket over his exposed shoulders. "I should tell him that he owes me an extra game of Pai Sho tomorrow morning for missing out on a lesson."

With that, Hana closed the lamp that lit the dim room. Rainwater tapped against the window, the only sound in the night.

Hana looked at the bed for a moment and tapped the comfortable mattress.

She then slipped under the blankets covering Shijin and let herself rest on his shoulders.

_To be continued…_


	8. Lesson Eight

**Lesson Eight: Concealed Deployment, Part Two**

* * *

><p>The road to Taku was surrounded by mountains and forests. Years later, many would see the city as a geographical miracle, a remote part of the kingdom that shouldn't have been a trading hub of Chin's time. It was only the people and the rich resources found in the mountains that made Taku a popular site for traders of all places.<p>

While the mountains provided rare gems and raw materials, the forests provided more than just firewood and animals. There were a lush variety of wild flowers that florists and herb specialists collected and traded. Some were beautiful marriage gifts and others were said to be cures to poison and old age. There were even rumors that an herbalist and his carpenter wife were starting to build an institute of learning at the tip of the mountains.

That morning, Shijin trekked into that very same forest. He had donned his Airbender robes again, and he found himself in an open clear, where the forest seemed to avoid. The trees formed a crooked circle around him, and while the morning sun had yet to reach to the clear sky above, Shijin could feel the occasional warm feeling when sunlight burst through the swaying branches and leaves.

In front of him was a tree that stood alone at the center of the clear. It was still growing; its leaves appeared weak and fragile, even for the fall season. Birds and animals avoided clinging to its shaky branches and took refuge in the veterans of the forest.

Shijin bent his knees, put out his hands, and in a smooth motion, thrust his open right palm towards the tree.

He heard a large boom, but the rest of the forest did not seem to mind. After the heavy winds subsided around him, Shijin stared at the weak tree, which remained standing after his attack. While anyone else would have been disappointed that an attack of such caliber had not blasted the tree to smithereens, Shijin smiled at his result.

"Are you really going to train for this," said a voice from a tree behind him. When Shijin turned around, the woman from yesterday was sitting on a branch, her hands folded around a bottle of wine and a basket of fruit. She hopped down and tossed the basket in front of Shijin. "Here, some food that they were selling early at the market."

"If you intend on getting on my good side, forget it. It's been years since then and we're both different now," Shijin kicked open the basket's cover and grabbed an apple from inside. "But thank you. You always knew how to pick out the best fruit."

Shijin turned back to the tree and sent another gale at the tree. The speed that was unleashed from Shijin's hand threw leaves all around high into the sky. The weak tree still stood.

"I'm stronger now," the woman said, sitting down against the nearest tree and bringing her knees to her chin. "You won't beat me with just your mother's techniques."

"They said the same thing about my mother's Pai Sho strategy," Shijin said. "But in all of my years travelling with her, she was only defeated once, and that was by someone who didn't even challenge her to a game, let alone the Airbenders who thought her play style was foolish."

"I beat you yesterday," she protested. "That should be proof enough."

"I showed you everything you know about me," Shijin dropped his hands, and flung the apple in the air. With a few cuts of his hand, the apple burst into five clean slices. "But that doesn't mean I showed you everything."

"That's exactly like you," she sighed. "Holding secrets like this."

Shijin didn't respond. He just returned to the tree in front of him. He circled around it, treating it as a human opponent.

"Will you try to kill me in order to get to your father?" she called as Shijin unleashed a barrage of kicks. "Are you willing to go that far to break our laws?"

"That's why I'm training," Shijin said. "It's the only way my student and I can move forward after all."

"Have you even considered my offer at all?" the woman said. "The girl that you're teaching. What will she think when she sees this? An Airbender training to kill another Airbender? What will she think when she sees the real you?"

"I think, that when the time comes," Shijin wiped the first traces of sweat on his forehead. He looked at the weak tree again, and thrust another punch in its direction. "I'll let her decide for herself if she wants to stay with me."

When the gust subsided, the tree was standing.

* * *

><p>Hana woke up on the bed. She was lying on top of the sheets already sprawled out over the mattress, and the blankets that Shijin had been using the night before were draped over her. She felt a cold tingling sensation near her feet, where her exposed toes wiggled at the touch of a soft wind brushing past the open window. The chair next to her looked like it had never been slept on, so Hana assumed that it had been at least an hour since Shijin woke.<p>

When she headed downstairs, Huang Gua was busy making breakfast in a room behind shop while reading a book in her free hand. Held over the fireplace was a stone bowl and inside, set on top of a flat wooden board were an assortment of buns, some with filling, others without. Like always, the smell of food brought a certain badgermole to the fireplace, who hopped from left to right next to the antique shop owner.

"Good morning," Hana yawned, searching around for her teacher. "Where's Shijin?"

"He left early this morning," Huang looked up from her book. "Said he was going to back late again, though he didn't really say why. Do you want some buns? Now that the Airbender's gone, I definitely won't be able to finish all of these by myself."

They ate on a small round table. Some of the buns had traces of pork and lettuce inside. Others were filled with a soft creamy and sugary spread. They all went well with some grape juice that Huang had made by plucking grapes from a vine in the backyard. She had said that the grapes had been grown by her father, and the pomegranate tree sitting across from the vines was her mother's.

"I take turns switching between the grape and pomegranate juice," Huang explained. "My mother and father used to take turns making dinner, though it was usually my father needing to help out. He was always the better cook and he got a lot of his experience from some ancient recipes he had drawn up in his excavations with his friends."

"That sounds amazing," Hana said. "I don't have much memories of them, but all I know is that my mother often brought back food from restaurants, so I never knew if she could make food or not."

When they were finished, Hana helped Huang clean up the dishes and wipe the tables. It was then that she noticed that Shijin had left his bag of Pai Sho tiles and board on top of the table.

"If he's going to be out all day," Hana murmured. "Then why didn't he take his Pai Sho tiles with him? Come to think of it, he didn't even do his morning lesson with me today. What is he thinking, leaving me here all alone with nothing to do?"

"When I saw him this morning, he had a blank expression on his face," Huang said, placing the last of the dried dishes in a nearby cabinet. "Every once in a while, he would mutter a few things to himself, and then look at his hands. I'm not sure what he was doing, though he did ask for a brush and ink. Maybe he left a note for you?"

Next to the Pai Sho tiles was the bag that Shijin would use to store the coins. After a quick shake, Hana found that there was an abundance of pieces jingling inside. On top of the bag was a slip of paper that Hana had never seen before. After flipping the small note over, she saw a few characters written on it, swirls and symbols completely foreign to Hana.

"That Shijin," Hana scowled. "He already forgot that I don't even know how to read."

"I can help with that," Huang took the note in her hands. "It reads: 'Huang, tell Hana that there should be enough coins for her to go out and try to earn some money on her own. Tell her to bet in the same quantities of five copper pieces each. Remind her to remember what I taught her. I'll be back again. It's possible that it will be very late.' See? He did know you couldn't read."

"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment anymore," Hana took the piece of paper in her hands, wondering how Huang could read what only appeared to her like either scribbles or fancy swirls. She smiled. "But it's been a while since I've been told to go out and try to earn some coins. Come on, Kupo. If all goes well, I'll buy some nice food for you."

After Huang packed her a little box of sandwiches, Hana walked out the door and headed down the steps of Taku. The sounds of the marketplace grew louder and louder with each passing step. When she reached the bazaar, she did what Shijin did every time he sat down to play: she picked a spot closest to the food vendors and began setting up her board and tiles.

When she was finished, five copper pieces in a pot and her opponent's tiles laid out on the other side of the board, Hana sat on her knees and waited for someone to accept her challenge. It took a while, but not before long, there was a nice line of people in front of Hana who were busy waiting for business to pick up in the early stages of the morning. None of them seemed bothered by the fact that the one who issued the challenge was a girl. If any were bothered, they didn't seem to show it.

Her first few games went well, better than Hana had expected. The time that she spent with Shijin appeared to finally be paying off, as she held her own against farmers who had little understanding of a number of the game's simplest mechanics. There were many that she lost, yes, and Hana found that she was quickly running a deficit with a win every three games. But one in three was much better than the consistent losses that Hana had suffered during her first few months of training. And even then, after a few games of shaking off the initial nerves and warming up, Hana was winning more and more.

It was at that point, though, when Hana began winning more than just one out of every three, that she remembered what Shijin had told her not too long ago.

_As you are now, you might be able to score at most a little bit under a thirty percent win ratio in pub games, depending on which pubs you choose. Winning money with Pai Sho becomes profitable once you hit above the halfway mark because you begin earning for the amount that you lose._

And then, a fear crept into her heart, like a bad worm finding an open pore in a fresh apple.

"Why did Shijin ask me to come out to make money when he could have done it himself? Sure he's asked me to do it before, but not for the entire day, and even then he was always close by," she began asking herself. "Was it to find out if I could win on my own now?"

A game flew past her before she even realized it, and by the time that Hana saw that the game had been easily within her grasp, her opponent had already grabbed the five coins out of her pot.

"What if I bring home more money than there was originally?" Hana whispered. "Did Shijin count the pieces? Is he planning on leaving me here if he finds out I can win a lot more now?"

Another match lost. This time, the farmer in front of her waved a hand in her face before she reacted and allowed him to take her money. She couldn't concentrate, but for some reason, the players kept coming and Hana allowed them to sit without a moment's hesitation. Kupo crawled onto her lap and began whining at her, but even that didn't catch Hana's attention.

"So what if I start losing games intentionally?" Hana asked herself finally, throwing a tile senselessly into her opponent's obvious ploy. "If I come back with less money than before, Shijin will have no choice but to keep teaching me, right?"

Before she started the next game, a hand fell on her shoulder and broke Hana out of her silent monologue. When she turned around, Hana saw the outline of a beautiful Airbender maiden. The Airbender knelt down beside her and looked at the tiles that Hana had been haphazardly placing all over the board.

"Hey, can't you guys see that she's not feeling well right now? Why are you taking advantage of her," she asked the men who were lining up for a game. They all seemed intimidated by her presence. "Go find someone else to play with. Shoo, shoo!"

As the crowd dissipated, she helped a confused Hana clean up the tiles and board. Kupo helped too, scooting pieces towards the fingers of the Airbender, making it easier for her to stack the pieces together.

"What were you doing, intentionally losing games like that?" the Airbender asked, her face solemn. She handed the cleaned up board and tiles over to Hana, who stored them inside Shijin's bag. "Who taught you to do that?"

"You could tell?" Hana looked away. "How long were you watching me?"

"Long enough," she replied. "I recognized those tiles. You're Shijin's student aren't you? If you are, then I can't imagine his pupil playing so poorly."

"You know Shijin?" Hana asked. "Where is he?"

"He's busy right now," she said. "If you go, you might not like wha-"

"I want to go see him," Hana said firmly. She wrapped the bag around her neck, and filled her other bag with the remaining coins left from the games. She strapped that bag to her waist, nodded at the Airbender in front of her, and repeated. "I want to go see him."

The Airbender nodded and took her on a road that led out of the city. The nice brick roads that made it easy for carts to roll through began to disappear, replaced by a dirt path that made a straight line towards the forest to the west of the city. Kupo, taking a liking to the dirt road, rolled around in it before Hana motioned for the badgermole to keep up. The Airbender asked a few questions on their way.

"How long have you been Shijin's student?" she would ask. "What do you think of his teaching? What do you think of him?"

"A little over three months," she would respond. "I think he's a good teacher. I think he's a good man. How do you know him?"

"Shijin and I go a while back," said the woman with an almost arrogant tone. "We were good friends a long time before his exile, and even afterwards I met up with him for a while before he disappeared after a few years. It was only recently, though, when I heard of him again."

"You have business with him?" Hana didn't look at the woman. Her eyes were only focused on the road ahead, where the sound of roaring winds came from the forest depths.

"Somewhat," the woman's voice quieted down. She tossed her head back and looked at the tips of the trees. "I don't understand how you can call Shijin a good man, when you know so little about him though. I've known him for years, and I don't even know enough to say that about him, especially after his exile."

"What's so important about that anyway," Hana frowned. "His exile, I mean. All I've seen is Shijin, someone who loves to play Pai Sho."

"He hasn't told you about why he was exiled?" the woman widened her eyes. "Well, I guess that would make sense after thinking about it for a bit longer. It's not a topic he would be particularly willing to tell anyone that he meets."

"Why was he exiled then?" Hana asked.

"That's something that he should tell you himself," said the woman. "I don't think I have the right to speak for him anymore."

The trees seemed to fold back for her, and before she knew it, Hana was blinded by the sun that hovered over a clear circle in the forest. From there, Hana saw Shijin standing in the middle of the circle, his hands scraped, water dripping from his nose and mouth. His legs looked like they were buckling under his frail upper body, and his eyes flickered open and close.

With a brief grunt, Shijin charged towards what appeared to be a young tree growing in the middle of the ring. Hana heard a loud bang and she covered her eyes as a heavy wave of air washed over her, along with leaves and dirt. Kupo grabbed onto Hana's feet, and his claws unintentionally scratched her big toe. When she looked back, the tree stood standing in place.

"What is he doing," Hana whispered, putting her hands to her mouth. "Has he been doing this since this morning?"

"This is the business I have with him," the woman patted Hana on the shoulder before turning and walking away. "I want to stop him, and this is his response. This is the real Shijin. Is this the good man that you envisioned him to be?"

As the mysterious nomad behind her walked off, Hana's only attention could be kept on Shijin, who collapsed right afterwards, his body too tired to continue. Hana called his name before rushing to his side. When she reached him, she dropped to her knees and picked up his head to feel for a pulse.

"What did you do to yourself," Hana placed his head on her knees, then lifted his hands and saw the strange cuts that had appeared on his hands. "And what have you been not telling me about our journey?"

"Hana, what are you doing here?" Shijin's eyes remained closed as he talked. "Didn't Huang read you my message? I wanted you to try to earn yourself some money today."

"Why, so you can just leave me when I'm done?" Hana almost shouted. "You're going to just leave me after I can make some money for myself right?"

"Are you stupid or something?" Shijin coughed, before bringing a hand and giving Hana's shoulders a sudden nudge. "There's an entry fee for some of the intermediate Pai Sho tournaments at Ba Sing Se. I wasn't planning on paying for you with my own money, because I wanted you to pay for your own pass."

"Then why are you here," Hana said. "You're all cut up and bruised, almost like you fought one of those mooselions we saw face to face. There was this woman that was with me, and she said you were here training to fight her. Why?"

"Oh, you met her?" Shijin frowned. "Well, I was hoping we would leave here without you ever having to see her. I guess that's out the window now."

"Shijin," Hana said slowly. "Are you stupid or something?"

Shijin opened his eyes, right as a drop of water fell onto his cheek. The sun illuminated Hana's watery face. Her hands were cradling his head, while she sniffed up fluids coming out of her nose. Her eyes were closed as she tried to snap back as many tears as she could, but that didn't stop the cries that came from her lips.

"When I was younger, I didn't have anyone I could depend on," Hana started all of a sudden. "I already know why you made sure to hide me from the Wu Jian as much as possible. It's because people look at my eyes and they know I'm different. They know that I'm half Fire Nation, and that's almost unheard of here."

"My mother and father left me early because of that, and even though they gave me to a 'friend' at a brothel, he never treated me as anything other than a worker and a slave," Hana tried wiping away at some of her tears. "I figured that if I hadn't left with you earlier this year I would've been a lot like the women I met there. Serving men privately in the rooms behind the shop."

"But then I met you," Hana shook Shijin's head a little bit, to shake some sense into him. "And for the first time there was someone I could depend on. To protect me. To save me if I ever get into trouble. To teach me about the world."

"I depend on you, Shijin," though she was crying, Hana looked back at Shijin with a glare. "And you should know that even if I'm not as strong or as smart as you, you can depend on me too. You don't have to do all of these things by yourself. I'm your student, so teach me how to help you."

Shijin blinked. His mouth was slightly open, partially trying to say something, but also partially in surprise. Then, to the shock of himself and Hana, Shijin chuckled.

"I guess I've been worrying you too much," Shijin finished his laugh, before using the hand on Hana's shoulder to pat her on the head. "Sorry."

Hana cried even louder, and somewhere in the forest, a watching Airbender bit her lip and stole off into the afternoon.

* * *

><p>"The Airbender you met was a student of my mother," Shijin explained later that evening. For someone who appeared to be on the verge of unconsciousness, a few cups of tea and few bits of apples had brought color back to Shijin's face. "She's now a council member at the Western Temple and came out here to stop me from going to the Northern Temple. It might sound like justice, but she has her own personal reasons for doing so."<p>

After Shijin was strong enough to stand again, which wasn't until hours later when the sun was setting, the two of them walked back to the market, where they found a nice quiet tea shop where they could order tea and eat the basket of fruit that had been lying next to Shijin's prone form. Underneath the table, Hana snuck a few pears for Kupo to eat, though he seemed less satisfied then when he was offered fish.

"You're heading to the temple?" Hana asked. "Why? I thought you were exiled."

"That's probably something we'll have to discuss at a later time," Shijin replied. "But as an exile, yes, I'm forbidden to go to the temples, which is why she's adamant on stopping me from going. I have my reasons, though."

"So you're going to fight her," Hana concluded. "Is going to the Northern Air Temple that important?"

"I wouldn't be going there if it wasn't important," Shijin snapped. "There's business I never finished up there. If it makes you wonder less about it, it's a personal family affair, and it's something I want to deal with before I can move on."

"The woman also said that it had to do with your exile," Hana noted. "I know I asked it already, but why were you exiled?"

"If I lose tonight," Shijin gulped down another cup of tea before refilling it with the pot in the middle of the table. "You can ask me that question again."

After that, Shijin avoided questions about his past, and Hana was forced to give a report on how she had played that morning and afternoon. When Shijin saw that Hana had lost so many coins, he sighed and shook his head, before commenting on her hopeless Pai Sho skills. Hana kept quiet about her purposely losing games.

Their talk became much more casual at that point. They talked until the sun dropped below the horizon, flashing orange streaks over the sky, and the shops around either lit their lamps for nightly festivities, or closed up and locked their doors. It was at this time that Shijin stopped talking and motioned for Hana to follow.

"What about Huang?" Hana said, noticing that Shijin was taking her to the outskirts of the city. "Are we just going to leave her?"

"I've left a second note to her among the things that we left behind, along with a gift I bought with some of the money I won yesterday," Shijin replied. "What I failed to mention to her is that shortly after my mother sold the priceless Airbender plates to Huang's dad, he saved me from a bear that chased me around in the forest. It's the least I can do to pay back the man that saved my life."

The route they took led away from the forests and away from the main road. It went northeast, towards the river that separated Chin's lands from the rest of the nomads and towards the Northern Air Temple. They descended the slopes of the mountain, and Taku grew smaller and smaller behind them. Fields of flat grassland awaited them at the bottom of the bottom, and it was here that the two of them saw an Airbender standing on the other sides of the plains.

"Wait here," Shijin placed his staff against the nearest tree. "I won't be very long."

He stood face to face with the Air Nomad, who glared back at him with an almost desperate gaze. She stared silently at him, knowing that none of her words mattered at all now. Shijin had other ideas.

"Oh right," Shijin shook his head. "I never did get to play another game with you and beat that strategy of yours. It's quite a shame."

"Please don't say that," when the moon was revealed by the moving clouds, Shijin realized tears were falling from the woman's glaring eyes. "If you really wanted to play with me again, you could have always just asked."

It was a full moon that night, the end of the first month in fall. There were many clouds drifting in the sky, and when they covered the moon, it was like a lighthouse flashing its lanterns on and off to signal ships that land was close. That light shined on two people facing one another on flat grassland.

The breeze picked up speed, and the smell of grass and weeds flung from their weak roots filled the air. The wind turned into gusts, and from the hill overlooking the plains, Hana could see the air take the shape of sharp blades. They crashed into one another, cut open flowers, and flung dirt into the air, but none of them touched the two silhouettes standing ever so silently.

Gusts turned to gales, and the entire field of grass looked like it would be flattened by the torrents of air swirling around. Hana held Kupo close to her, afraid that if she didn't, the howling winds would sweep the badgermole away from her. The tree branches above her shook violently, and Hana closed her eyes to prevent anything from falling into them.

Then, everything fell silent. The winds stopped their violent rampage, and the grass, dirt, and flowers that had been thrown recklessly into the air slowly drifted back to the earth. Hana opened her eyes, and stared at her teacher, who was standing across from the woman with Airbender tattoos traced over her body.

She had never seen such a grave expression on Shijin's face. Behind his close lips, Hana could tell that his teeth were clenched as tightly as they could. His closed eyes, while not bearing a semblance of anger, concealed the feelings of a man about to make a regrettable error. His forehead was creased, as if he desperately reached for a way out of his predicament.

"You brought this on yourself," said the woman with tattoos, her tears gone. She twirled her staff and then struck it into the ground. With a deep breath, she bent her knees and put her palms forward in a fighting stance. "Don't worry. In accordance with the customs of the Western Air Temple, justice shall be dealt swiftly."

Hana looked at Shijin, and then at the staff that was leaning on the tree behind her. Her hands shook, her heart pounded, so much so that Kupo began whining and struggled until he was out of her palms and lying next to her. But even Kupo, when touching the ground and feeling the presence of the woman standing face to face with Shijin, began to growl.

Shijin's eyes remained closed.

"I am the third council member of the Western Air Temple," the woman proclaimed, her eyes now aflame with fury. "Seigi Nohito."

"Here I come!"

The woman named Seigi jumped forward, and it was so fast that it appeared as if she had disappeared into thin air for a split second before reappearing in front of Shijin, her palms pulled back and ready. She slammed her right hand down, aiming directly for Shijin's chest.

The battle was over in the next second, and Hana could barely see what happened.

Shijin's eyes flashed open, and with a yell, he met Seigi's hand with his own. A massive boom, even louder than the one that Hana had heard that morning, resonated when the two palms clashed against each other. Seigi's reaction was one of instant pain and surprise, and her fingers twitched repeatedly when they came into contact with Shijin's. It was almost as if all the strength that she had poured into her attack had been instantly turned against her.

She was tossed away like a frail leaf, and though she managed to find balance and land on her feet, the expression on her face told Hana that she was in no condition to keep fighting. Shijin's opponent grabbed her stomach, shivering in the cold night. Her legs quivered as if they had been shot full of lightning.

"You fell into the same trap that I did," Shijin called out, resuming his normal calm pose, his hands now at rest. "Your Pai Sho strategy revolves around your opponent attacking first, and you turn what looks like a defense into an aggressive counter attack. All I had to do was wait for you to attack, and use the move that I was practicing all day. If you hadn't attacked at all, you'd be standing without a single scratch, just like that frail weak tree."

Shijin walked towards Seigi, who had succumbed to the pain and dropped to her knees. Hana ran towards them with Shijin's staff in hand.

"Seigi," Shijin bent down to meet her face to face. "It's okay if you can never forgive me for what happened to my mother, but as a council member, petty feelings like revenge shouldn't be clouding your judgment. I don't want someone as headstrong and good like you to fall to the level of someone like me."

"Why-" Seigi started.

"Shh," Shijin put a hand to her mouth as Hana came close. When Shijin moved his hand away, Seigi could only look away and nod. "The pain you're feeling right now is temporary, a shock from having all that stored up power sent right back to you in a fraction of a second. It should wear off in a few minutes, and by then we'll have already left. Feel free to follow, but by now you should know that you can't stop me. Goodbye."

Shijin grabbed the staff out of Hana's hand and began to walk away. Hana turned her attention to the fallen Airbender, but Seigi raised a hand in protest. She shook her head and smiled, though she was clearly still bitter about her loss.

"I'll be okay," Seigi said. "Frankly, I'm jealous of you, pupil. Today was the first time I saw a genuine laugh from that man in a long time. I think that's what I was searching for all this time."

Seigi stood up on her own, her legs still wobbling. Hana tried to help, but the Airbender once again put up a hand to stop her from doing so.

"I'm done chasing after Shijin like this," Seigi closed her eyes. "I see that he's found someone like you that can take care of him. Thank you."

Grabbing her staff out of the dirt, Seigi leaned on it and began limping away, never turning once to look back at Shijin. As she left, Hana turned back to Shijin, and raced after him, also never once looking back.

"I guess I won't be able to ask Shijin about it after all," was all Hana said that night.

_To be continued…_


	9. Lesson Nine

**Lesson Nine: Synchronous Movement, Part One**

* * *

><p>"Gao, yip yip!" she yelled.<p>

With a loud groan, the sky bison jumped into the air. It was a rough takeoff as the bison dipped just a little bit after its initial leap. Shijin yelped for a moment, holding onto the leather seat in the back when he floated upwards. Then, Gao found his rhythm and recovered from his disorientation, flapping his tail up and down to propel himself higher.

"I knew those berries were the right ones," she rubbed the bison's head. "That's a good boy. Looks like the herbs did the trick finally. Shijin, are you okay back there?"

"Yeah," Shijin sat up, rubbing the spot on his bald head where he had bumped against the leather. Below, a young man who appeared quite skinny and without muscles waved back at him. Shijin waved back. "Where are we headed off to next?"

"Well," she turned to look at the snow covered mountains behind her. "Winter is on its way soon. Let's head to the Serpent's Lake. Gao, you know the way right? Take it easy and slow now."

She was at the reigns for a few minutes, taking the sky bison through a series of warm up turns and acrobatic exercises. Afterwards though, she gave Gao a kiss on the head before hopping into the backseat with Shijin. There were a few bags that were strapped tightly onto the edges of the seat. She grabbed one of them.

"So, where were we?" she said excitedly. She loosened the knot around the bag and pulled out a rolled up Pai Sho board.

"We were learning how lousy I am with the fire lily and white dragon tiles," Shijin put a hand on his cheek and puffed his cheeks. "Can I just not learn about those two tiles? It's not like your style uses them anyway."

"Since when was Pai Sho so self-centered?" she asked. "You can play proactive of course, but you also need to learn how to play Pai Sho reactively as well. Learn to deploy based on what your opponent uses, and there is no better example of this than how difficult it is to deploy against the lily and white dragon tiles."

"Look," Shijin rolled his eyes. "In the last ten villages we visited, there was only one person who used those two tiles, and he didn't even know how to play the game. Can't we just accept that I'll never be good at using them, and I'll just take the one loss every one hundred games?"

"If all you think about in Pai Sho is winning, then I haven't taught you anything," she scolded. "Shijin, there's more to life than just spending your time in exile winning money just to scrape by. You're sixteen now, and maybe it's time you started learning about the world and about life. Tell me one thing you've learned about the Earth Kingdom in the six years you've been in exile."

"Unlike the Air Temples, it sometimes gets hot in the kingdom," Shijin mumbled. "Look, I just don't want to learn about these tiles. I think they're pointless in competitive play and in casual play, anyone who uses them is a joke. I don't think there's a single standard opening with it, and it's used more for ceremonial purposes than anything."

"The lily doesn't have any special properties like the chrysanthemum and holds little importance unlike the white lotus," Shijin continued. "It's just there so that if you play it, you can play the white dragon the next turn. But even that's pretty lousy because the white dragon is forced to fly in a five step radius around the lily too, which means you waste two moves playing pieces that you can't use to attack."

"Shijin, you always talk about these pieces like they're mechanical and so methodical," she shook her head and sighed. "How about I demonstrate for you instead? Care for a few quick games to at least?"

"Fine," Shijin crawled over to help set up the board. "Whatever you say mom, but if you use those two pieces, I guarantee that even I can beat you."

A few minutes later, after at least three games had been played between them, Shijin flipped over another white lotus tile in concession. His cheeks were red, though he'd blame it on the air pressure. He looked away from his mother, who silently collected the tiles and returned them to the bag. When she was finished tying the bag back onto the leather seat, she sat next to Shijin and pulled his head onto her lap.

"Have you learned your lesson yet?" she said. "What's this about beating your mother when she plays two useless tiles in the first three moves?"

"Nobody used it the way you did," Shijin puffed his cheeks out even further. "I didn't expect you to just put all of your pieces in that little circle and attack at once. Who does that anyway?"

"That's how the style works," she replied. "Airbenders love evasive plays. Earthbenders enjoy defensive moves, and Waterbenders typically use clever maneuvers with a few pieces to turn the tide. The Fire Nation enjoys one big frontal attack to end a game quickly. They position their tiles very well and they play very aggressively because of it."

"So what should I have done to stop it?" Shijin asked. "You just kept taking all of my pieces until I had nothing left."

"You have to stop me from spinning out of control," she explained. "You either have to be aggressive early, and eliminate either my flower or dragon so I can't mobilize my pieces under the protection of the dragon. Or you have to set up your pieces in such a way that I can't keep taking pieces every move. The style that's used when one uses the white dragon is one that requires a mastery of foresight."

"In order to beat it, you must be the same way," she advised. "You must ready your defenses, and discard the rest. Hold your ground and stop the attack even as you lose pieces. If you can hold off the brutal onslaught for just one turn, the victory can very well be yours."

"Sounds confusing," the monk groaned.

"Such is the way of Pai Sho," she beamed. "One day you'll realize how important it is to know not just the mechanics of the game, but also the mental and cultural significance in it as well. And when that day comes, I think you'll see yourself as an entirely different man."

"And what will you think of me?" Shijin asked. "Aren't I a man now?"

"My thoughts of you will never change," she kissed him on the forehead, knowing very well that he thought he was too old for it.

"You will always be my son."

* * *

><p>"Shijin?" Hana tapped the monk on the forehead, breaking him out of his blank stare. Shijin looked around to see that their boat had docked on the shore. They had gotten here faster than he had expected. "We're here."<p>

After their encounter with Seigi in Taku, Shijin, Hana, and a growing Kupo boarded a ferry and crossed the river out of Chin's birthplace back into the regions of the northern Earth Kingdom. It didn't feel very different though, as most of the lands there also belonged to Chin anyway. Nonetheless, their stay in the homeland of the conqueror was short, and Hana had many questions when they left. Shijin could only answer some, however, a rarity from the Airbender.

"I didn't see many Wu Jian there," Hana said, relieved. "And I remember you saying that they manned a lot of the garrisons to protect Chin's lands from invasion."

"It was that way the last time my mother and I went there, but the Wu Jian have never been known to stay too closely to larger cities," Shijin shrugged. "I guess things have changed, though it might just be because they moved their garrisons further south as Chin expanded his lands. We did sneak in after all."

For the next few weeks, the three traveled east, walking along the northern shores of the Serpent's Lake. If the towns they stayed at offered good food and comfort, Shijin felt safe enough to stay in those towns for longer than their two day limit. Even though the wanted posters still occasionally flashed on brick walls next to obscure tea shops, Shijin was beginning to think that their encounters with the Wu Jian were scarce enough to warrant a stay in nicer places.

"Just make sure you don't do anything that draws attention to yourself," Shijin warned. "The Wu Jian might have lost our trail, but we're not in the clear yet."

By the time they reached one of the villages sitting on the river flowing north out of the Serpent's Lake, fall was starting to wane. The color in the leaves was fading, as if the mixture of orange and red were being drained from shrubberies by an undetermined illness. The trees along the river had few flowers left on their branches and they shivered whenever the wind passed by.

The river itself was wide and curved like a brush, giving form to a large fin shaped peninsula on the left side of the river. On the other side, a number of mountains that marked the beginning of a long journey north towards the Northern Air Temple sat dauntingly in front of them. The stream also ran through the middle of the town, and the town plaza was separated by a stone bridge that connected the two parts of the settlement together.

Little kids and old men could be seen standing on the bridge and on the grassy shore throwing their lines into the water to catch a few of the local fish, only to toss them back into the water. Further away from the square, there were fishing boats trying to catch a nice batch before the water started freezing over. The crops here all seemed to have been fully picked, as the working men no longer wore their bamboo hats and brought their ostrich horses out to work. Instead, they armed themselves with pickaxes, and the tips of their fingers were black.

"I've heard about this," Hana whispered to Shijin. "They get it from the tunnels they build in the mountain."

"For someone living in Omashu, I guess this is an everyday occurrence," Shijin nodded. "They say the vast depths below Omashu were made from hundreds of years of digging for a hidden stone. It's a little bit more practical here though."

"Coal," Hana inspected a cart full of the black stones as it rolled on by. "Packs of those are pretty cheap when I was told to go buy things back in Omashu. Now I can see why. This place is a landmine of them, and there must be plenty more in the mountains too. The fires they make can be a bit smelly at times, but they make for very warm and long lasting ones."

"It's also a pretty nice trading commodity," Shijin said. "The Fire Nation could especially make use of these since their real use is when they're on fire. They're also used to smith weapons, too."

"Seems dangerous though," Hana said, a man with his hands fully bandaged in white cloth limping towards his home. "Even if you were an earthbender, there must be a lot of accidents."

"Unless you're a badgermole, I'd say the chances of an accident in a lifetime of this profession are almost certain," Shijin replied. "The fact that this town is so close to the mountains is also disconcerting. It'd be even more dangerous in the winter, when the snow begins to gather a lot on the mountainside, but an accident in the mines could cause a rather devastating rockslide. I've seen it before."

"Where?" Hana asked.

"Do you remember Hong, the man who we met during the festival at summer's end?" Shijin asked. When Hana nodded, he continued. "His father was a farmer but also worked part time in the mines come winter time. They must have dug the mines in too deep because when the mine collapsed a good portion of the boulders resting on the mountain came crashing on them. My mother and I took good care of him and his mother every year after that."

"He never told me about that," Hana whispered, a little bit in shock.

"Everyone has secrets that they keep to themselves," Shijin closed his eyes and shrugged. "Even you have your secrets right? Your Fire Nation nationality. Your life with your mother and father. Even our badgermole friend probably has a few secrets up his fur too."

Kupo gave Shijin a blank stare. For an earthbending creature, seeing the badgermole earthbend was a rarity. He would most often be caught carving neat caves in large boulders to sleep during the night or flattening rocks on the road to make it easier to walk. Shijin had mentioned that it was time for the badgermole to start showing its true power, and Hana took that to mean trying to teach Kupo useful tricks.

"Training badgermoles to do anything is pretty tough," Shijin explained once. "They're a quiet and peaceful species, and they naturally keep to themselves. It's not often that any ever feel like walking across the earth, and especially if it's told to do things by someone else."

"It'd be cool if he could do some neat tricks though," Hana had replied, flipping three blank Pai Sho tiles around her fingers. "We could make some extra spare money if he did some."

"Don't insult him," Shijin had said, squinting at the badgermole, who was drinking from the river. "That growing body has more power than you know. I'm not sure if it'd be safe to keep him if he ever got angry with us. When he wants to show us his strength, he will."

That evening, after they had made arrangements at one of the local inns, the three headed over to the eastern side of the village, where tea shops and food stands were open and accepting customers. The stands were lined up one after another, smoking and steaming a variety of the river life. However, as good and inexpensive as it looked, fish had been their main diet for many weeks now, and Shijin decided it was time for a different cuisine. He shook his bag of silver and copper pieces, and, happy with the sound, he decided it was fine to try a special treat.

"The north is famous for its hot food, particularly during the fall and winter," Shijin said. "My mother took me here many times, and it is home to one of the famous food styles in the Earth Kingdom."

"And the other styles?" Hana asked. "I know Omashu gets a lot of travelers."

"That's because the southern region in general gets quite a bit of travelers," Shijin noted. "The south serves a nice mixture of Water Tribe food and vegetables, and also offers some of the rarest meats in the world. The west is well known for their steamed buns and spicy foods that come from the local wildlife. The only side of the Earth Kingdom that doesn't really have any famous dishes is the east, and that's because Ba Sing Se is just a cultural mixture of all three other places in the kingdom."

Shijin finally found a place at the end of the row of tea shops. Steam rose out of brick chimneys above, and a strong aroma of soup broths meshed together came from within. When they entered, the first thing that Hana noticed was that each table in the restaurant had its own stove, where a dark stone pot was placed and heated over a fire pit. Plates loaded with raw vegetables and freshly cut meats were stacked around the pots. Sets of condiments were neatly arranged on iron racks at the ends of tables.

"Here in this part of the kingdom," Shijin put up two fingers as a waitress approached them. "People cook their own food. It's called _huo guo_, or hot pot, and it's a staple meal during the colder seasons. Since the food cools off so quickly, people started to think, why not just cook it and eat it at the same time?"

After they were seated and Shijin ordered a bowl of steaming broth, the airbender taught her all there was to know about eating _huo guo_. Put the vegetables in first. Allow the mushrooms and onions to soak in with the soup and enhance the taste of the meat. If it's boar meat, keep the meat in longer. If it's beef, then you can keep the meat in for only a few seconds and eat it tender.

"Use that bowl to mix these sauces together," Shijin picked out a few bottles from the rack. "This is spicy bean paste, so if you're fine with something mildly spicy, this is good. This kind of creamy sauce here is made from peanut extract and goes well with the beef, but don't add too much of it. Of course, you always have your soy sauce and some garlic too, so that's always good to add in."

"You sound like you're having a lot of fun," Hana laughed. She took a piece of beef. The fresh taste of meat, so different from their usual fish and dipped in a sweet and spicy mix melted in her mouth. The hot food was so tender and easy to chew, not to mention that rather than the usual barbequed flavor, the boiled meat offered a new texture for her taste buds to enjoy. "Now I can see why. This is really good."

"When I first had this with my mother, it was so good that when we were out travelling, I would always ask her if we could have a treat like this for dinner," Shijin smiled. "That's when I first learned about money, and my mother always told me to never eat more than I needed. Of course, like the nice person she was, she'd spoil me later on. But she would always say special treats like this only come around for special occasions."

"What special day was she talking about?" Hana asked. "Your birthday?"

"Something like that," Shijin shrugged, dipping a ring of onions in the broth. "Though it's been a while since I've celebrated it. Why, when were you born?"

"Huh?" Hana jumped at the question, as this was one of the first times Shijin had ever asked her a question. She then answered without a second thought. "It passed already, when we were travelling from Hong's village to Taku."

"What? You should've told me," the monk folded his arms. "There are some really nice places to see around Taku, especially someone who hasn't travelled often."

"It's not that special," Hana chuckled awkwardly, pulling at strands of her hair. She took her chopsticks and twirled them around the plate, collecting the meat in one mass and soaking it in the sauce she had made. "My parents never had the money or the means to give or show me anything on my birthday anyway. We were too poor from-"

"That's enough," Shijin stopped Hana. "You don't have to tell me."

Hana nodded. It was always like this, with Shijin stopping her every time she attempted to open up to him about her past. Sometimes, Hana thought it was because Shijin felt that if she told him about herself, he would have to tell her the truth about his mother one day. Other times she would think that Shijin was uninterested as usual, only seeing her as a Pai Sho student and nothing more.

And then there were other times, when Hana would play Shijin a game of Pai Sho after such discussions. Those games were the ones where Shijin played the most conservative, scared to lose even a single piece, defending every little spot he controlled on the board. Hana wondered if Shijin was frightened then, but always dismissed the thought as figments of her imagination.

"Yeah," Hana quickly put the meat into her mouth and chewed. "I know."

They fell quiet after that, and Hana took the time to ask herself, like she always did, what would happen if she kept talking when Shijin told her to stop.

_Someday_, Hana said to herself. _Someday I'll find the courage to say that I want him to know._

"Well, today is special too in a way I guess," Shijin said finally. "It marks the day where you'll be finally done with your basic Pai Sho training."

"I thought that was over already," Hana boasted.

"Not quite," Shijin looked up at the waitress and pointed at a plate of empty vegetables on the table. "You haven't finished until you've learned how to play all the pieces. I've kept these last two pieces away from your games because they're quite hard to implement in casual play, but I think you've gotten to the point where it'd be good to know how to use the fire lily and white dragon tiles. I'll teach you tonight."

"I'm looking forward to it," Hana clenched her fists, her enthusiasm returning. "You said you wanted me to compete in the tournaments in Ba Sing Se right? I'm going to practice really hard for that."

"Someone's getting into it," Shijin noted.

"Of course," Hana answered. "If you sign me up for a tournament, I want to win it."

Shijin merely nodded, then returned to his meal.

The rest of their meal went without another mention of Pai Sho or birthdays. Shijin left most of the remaining meat to Hana, who put a few pieces in a small bowl and slipped it to a hungry badgermole underneath her chair. When their plates were emptied, waitresses would come and replace the blank porcelain. It took a while before Hana gulped down a bowl of soup and sighed at how much she had eaten.

After they had paid the bill, which was cheaper than Shijin had expected, and stepped out on the streets, the sun had already set. In its place was a star filled sky. The new moon was nowhere to be seen, and the air was still without the presence of the winds. If it wasn't for the bustling night life of the town, it would have made for a very calming and eerie atmosphere.

"Perfect for flying," Shijin murmured. He reached into his robes and handed the inn keys to Hana. "You go ahead and head back to our room, though you might want to take some time to walk off the meal. I have some business to attend to first, though it shouldn't take very long. Don't wait for me if I take too long though. Get some rest."

Hana nodded, taking the keys in her hand and strolling the short distance back to the inn, all the while patting her stomach. Kupo lazily stepped alongside her, having eaten his fair share of food as well.

Shijin turned around and headed towards the mountains. The closer he got, the more miners there were. The joking looks on their faces and their proud posture betrayed the exhaustion that was evident in their shaking knees and blistered hands. Some of them were bringing wheelbarrows filled with coal to the warehouses, while others were receiving their pay from a small house near the base of the mountain.

The airbender approached the wooden house, where the last few miners waved their hands and bowed to a lady standing at the door. She wore a green kimono with snowflakes printed on the sleeves, and her fierce dark eyes contrasted with the bright smile she gave to the departing miners. When she saw him approach, she glanced around to see if any of the workers remained. There were none.

"You always come back this time of year, though this year you've brought along a few wanted posters," the lady took a deep breath. "The village talks about you and your mother all the time. You should really consider staying. You could have all the _huo guo_ you want if you stay."

"If that's the case its taste would grow stale over time," Shijin said. "And I see you're still mining from the mountains. It's dangerous you know, especially without any earthbenders to help. You should really tell them to stop, since the winter is coming."

"We're mining as much as we can before the snow starts falling," she replied. "Everyone's using coal these days for the war. The soil won't bring harvest until winter is over, and until then we can only rely on selling coal and hope that we can catch some fish beneath the Serpent's Lake."

"As if the serpent will let you eat anything that's still unfrozen beneath the waters," Shijin sighed. "Liang, at least move your home closer to the village. Your husband didn't give his life to see both his wife and daughter linger on his resting place for the rest of his life."

"Perhaps," Liang nodded in agreement. "But I didn't do this because I wanted to. My daughter is just too attached to this mountain. She is much too like her father."

"How is Tsuyo?" Shijin looked past Liang and through the door.

"She trains every morning and every night with those sticks of hers," Liang shook her head. "She is probably over that hill there, sitting and watching the stars. She talks about your mother a lot, Shijin. She's never forgotten the life that she gave back to her."

The walk over the hill to the base of the mountain was short. The slope of the mountain wasn't very steep, but there were many large rocks that were rooted in the dirt. The boulders sat there unnaturally without a single tree in sight, and Shijin knew they were scars of a disaster long ago.

Sitting on top of one of the rocks at the foot of the slope was a young girl, perhaps the same age of Hana. Her legs hung over the rock, dangling at an awkward angle. A pair of wooden crutches was set next to her arms. She spotted Shijin, and her face lit up.

"Oy, Shijin!" she waved. "Here to enjoy the hot pot again this year? You should have come to me before you went. There's this new place that opened up. Very good. Almost as good as the one my dad ran when you first came here. How long are you staying this time?"

"Not very long this year," Shijin answered. "Sorry about that."

"Really? Must be nice travelling like you," she threw her back against the rock, pointing a single finger at the stars. "I think I'd be very good at it, if my legs worked like they're supposed to. I'd follow the trail of stars, all the way north. You said you come from the northern air temples, right? Maybe I could go there."

"Not the best place to go, I'll tell you that," said the monk, using a little gust of air to push himself onto the rock. "And just so you know, those stars are headed south."

"Oh. Guess I'm not ready to adventure out just yet then, huh?" the girl chuckled. When she stopped her burst of giggles, she closed her mouth and stared blankly at the trail of little dots. "Shijin, what's the world like?"

"You remind me of this girl I'm travelling with right now," Shijin muttered. "How many stories have both of you asked of me now? I would think you'd get a good idea of what it's like out there from that."

"You're traveling with someone else? That's new," Tsuyo lifted her head up to look at him, her eyes widened in surprise. "Well, in that case, what's the world like to her?"

"To her?" Shijin hadn't thought about it that way before. He gave a quick answer as usual. "She's seen a lot of good in the world, but she's also seen a lot of its cruel side. I'm not really sure what she thinks about it though. I'd say she just enjoys travelling and doesn't really give much thought to anything else."

But after thinking for a moment, Shijin wondered if that really was true. Perhaps the Hana he met when they first started travelling together would think of nothing else but asking questions about the world or complaining about Pai Sho. She didn't have any purpose, a helpless student who didn't have an idea what she wanted to do with herself.

_If you sign me up for a tournament, I want to win it._

"She sounds really carefree," Tsuyo said, her head turning back to the sky. "You know your mother told me that-"

"Leaving on a journey is all about crossing the first mountain?" Shijin finished. "Yeah. You tell me this every year."

"Is that how it was with you?" Tsuyo asked. "After you were exiled and everything."

"No," Shijin said. "When I left, everyone wanted me gone, and I didn't want to have anything to do with the temples afterward. My mother thought it would be difficult for me to leave behind the temples, but the truth is there was never really much that I was leaving behind. I had one friend, I guess, but even she had mixed feelings about me afterwards."

"Well I've decided," the girl picked up the wooden crutches next to her and hopped down from the rock. The two supports hit the dirt hard, but the girl seemed perfectly used to it. "Tomorrow, I'm going to scale the mountain. If I can make it to the top, I think I'll head east for Ba Sing Se."

"It's dangerous," Shijin warned, jumping off the rock as well. The two of them headed back towards to the wooden house over the hill. "Your mother would probably object."

"You approve though," Tsuyo grinned at him. When Shijin gave her a confused stare, she said. "You never said no."

"When people have the motivation to do something they can't be stopped," Shijin shrugged. "I've learned the lesson many times from my mother. The two of you are very alike, and my companion too. I'm not surprised why someone like my mom always loved being in the Earth Kingdom more than the temples. The people here are very strong willed and stand their ground, just like her."

"And you like it here because of the food?" Tsuyo laughed, though there was a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Of course," Shijin replied.

He escorted the girl back to her house. Her mother gave him a few looks of concern as he walked away, but Tsuyo began talking to her mother so quickly that Shijin was gone before Liang could say anything. It had gotten quite late, as even the nightly activities had ended in the town.

The lanterns were the only things lit at this time of night. They guided Shijin back over the bridge, through a set of winding streets, and back to the inn. The innkeeper's son greeted him when he entered, and that's when Shijin realized that Hana had probably already head to bed.

"I'll have to apologize for that later," Shijin winced at the thought of getting lectured by the girl the next morning for staying out for too long.

However, when he opened the doors quietly as to not wake her up, Shijin was surprised to see the girl sprawled over the floor, wide awake. His Pai Sho board was laid out over the floor, and Hana was playing against herself, moving pieces back and forth. The fire lily and white dragon tiles were among them. She looked up and frowned.

"Hey," Hana said slowly. "You said you wouldn't take very long. I was waiting all this time to finish my basic Pai Sho training tonight. Now come on. I've been trying to figure out how to use the lily and the white dragon tiles. They seem so useless."

Shijin, a bit taken aback, could only try to hide a smile that crawled on his face. Tsuyo was wrong to call Hana carefree.

"How similar indeed," Shijin murmured. He walked to the board, sat down, and drew the bag of Pai Sho tiles to his side. "Sorry about that. Now, about the lily and white dragon tiles..."

_To be continued…_


	10. Lesson Ten

**Lesson Ten: Synchronous Movement, Part Two**

* * *

><p>"I told you," she spoke. "That mining from these mountains was dangerous. I told you the risks, and you chose to ignore them. I don't scorn those who didn't listen, but I do hope you all now feel the responsibility of death on your shoulders. I've done all I can for the fortunate. I apologize for those who weren't so lucky."<p>

The crowd gazed at her stoic expression with a mixture of gratitude and shame. They stood gathered around a mound of boulders that had fallen from the top of the mountain, crushing anything and anyone in its path. The miners had already given up searching for survivors.

Shijin's mother hopped off of the rock that she had stood on to speak to the entire village. Many backed away immediately, averting their eyes from her bloody right arm that had been crushed in the avalanche. Her sleeve looked like a towel that was wrung much too hard, her flesh from the elbow down scraped and exposed. Her shoulder looked like it had been twisted out of place and then brutally forced back into its socket. Still, she showed no sign that it was painful.

"Shijin," she whispered when she brushed past him. "Come, let's go. Let the villagers weep in peace. We've done all we can for them."

"Kawa!" his mother turned. A woman was calling to her. She was sitting next to her daughter. Her daughter's expression was very forlorn, looking at her legs with her head cocked sideways. "Can't you do something about this Kawa? There are healers out there right? I know! The Northern Water Tribe. Please if you just could…"

"I'm sorry," Shijin's mother shook her head. A rejection, not an apology. "But I will not be bringing someone else with me and my son."

"But her legs," the other mother cried, stroking her daughter's ankles as if doing so was a healing charm. "Look at them. You know what this means right, Kawa? Tsuyo will never walk again if we don't do anything about it."

"Be thankful your daughter still has her life," Kawa ignored the mother now, and turned to the daughter. She walked to the girl and lifted her face, which was a mixture of tears and gravel. "Listen, Tsuyo. I know you can hear me. Your life is going to be very tough from now on, and if you ever want to see those legs walk again, you're going to need to go far, far, away. Far from this place. And your mother. If you do, it must be something you do alone."

"Kawa!" the mother yelped, her mouth agape, a loud breath coming from it. "How could you say those things to my-"

"The road will be tough, and you will fall, many, many times," Kawa continued on despite the interruption. "But know that this isn't a journey that you need to take tomorrow, or next year, or even in five years. Pick the time that you think is right. Some of us are unlucky that it was chosen for us so soon."

Shijin shuffled his feet uncomfortably when Kawa turned to glance at him.

"Strength, Tsuyo," Kawa finally smiled, stroking off the dirt that painted the girl's cheeks. "Comes from finding the power within you to make even the most farfetched dreams a reality. If you want, I will come next year and help you find that strength."

Those were the last words that she ever said to Tsuyo.

* * *

><p>Shijin awoke. Like always, he was seated in the corner of the room, his back pressed against bricks, his Air Nomad clothes draped over him as a blanket. Like always he woke before Hana, who was still sleeping with a slight snore uttered from her open mouth. Like always, Kupo slept in the space beneath Hana's bed, and was now peddling around the floor. And like always, Hana had kicked off some of her blankets during the night, so Shijin picked them up from the floor and covered her with them.<p>

Rain clouds had formed during the night. Outside, Shijin could see that the morning food stands had set up canopies over their cooking ware and tables. Even with the road muddy, people were scurrying around the village. It appeared most of the ones running were miners heading towards the mountains with rice wrapped in leaves in their arms.

"Mmm," Hana groaned when he pulled the covers over her. "Shijin, is it time to wake up already?"

Leaving the girl to her usual lethargic wake up routine, Shijin headed downstairs, where the scent of freshly cooked dough and soup lured him to a stand that stood at the corner of the street, directly across the inn. The store owner there was a young woman with a baby strapped behind her. The baby was cuddling with a stone soldier toy. He bit it occasionally.

The food she was making was a bit different than most of the other store owners on the street. Most of the other shops only sold simple soups, some pork, green onions, and some salt for additional flavoring. She had put all of those ingredients and some spices into dumplings and added them into an entire different broth. Each _hun tun _was hand crafted separately, so each bowl of soup came slowly. She also sold _you tiao_, a long strip of dough deep fried until it achieved a golden color.

"Your food takes too long to make," Shijin noticed he was the only one standing in front of the shop. "You won't get many customers this way."

"But the customers I will have," the woman smiled, sealing another dumpling with her nimble fingers. She gently tossed it into the steaming soup. "Will enjoy this food more than any other food that is sold around here, for they will have the patience to wait, and their patience will reward them."

"Two bowls of soup and a package of _you tiao _then," Shijin grinned, reaching into his pocket and fetching his bag of coins. After last night's treat, they were running a little low, but they could still afford something like this. "I'll put your theory to the test."

When Shijin returned to their room, Hana had already washed her hair in the bath downstairs and had finished dressing, her clothes from the night before thrown into a separate bag they used for outfits that needed washing. She had already unfolded the makeshift Pai Sho board that had been left on the ground during the night and had separated the tiles into two stacks. Shijin placed their breakfast on the floor.

They squared off on opposite sides of the board, each taking a separate stack of Pai Sho tiles. Shijin stirred the dumplings in his soup. Hana quickly grabbed one and bit into it before opening her mouth wide as the heat from inside the dumpling spilled into her mouth and scorched her tongue.

Then they started.

Hana threw a chrysanthemum tile down on the board, directly in front of Shijin's right sky bison entrance. Shijin raised an eyebrow, but decided not to comment on the move. For now.

He laid a wheel tile on the board so that it stood on the back edge of the center square and just three spaces from Hana's chrysanthemum tile. Hana followed up with a badgermole tile directly below her chrysanthemum, protecting it from the threat of the wheel. Shijin tapped down another wheel right underneath his first one. Hana's two pieces were now in his wheels' direct line of sight.

Hana's eyes scanned the board, her right hand lying calm over her pieces. Her other hand was completely still, resting on her lap as she contemplated her next move. When she finally decided, Hana shuffled her tiles around and brought out a wheel from beneath her stack and set it two spaces below her badgermole so that all of her three pieces were deployed in a line.

It was a strange setup, but Shijin could see the reason why Hana had laid down her pieces. The chrysanthemum blocked Shijin's first sky bison, which he often liked to play with his right hand. The wheel two spaces below not only protected the flower and badgermole combination, but maintained a tight watch over the center of the board, and kept Shijin from playing a chrysanthemum of his own on the left side of Hana's board. It was definitely unorthodox, but it gave Hana plenty of freedom.

_Which means her next move will be…_

Shijin set down a sky bison tile on the opposite side of the board. He needed a piece that could gain ground quickly. As expected, Hana decided to plan a fire lily tile one space left of the center of the board. Guarded by both her wheel and the badgermole, which could move to any flower so long as it's in a direct line of sight, Hana had created the perfect opportunity to play her white dragon tile.

"Why did you let me have the white dragon," Hana asked, not looking up once from the board. Her tone was of someone puzzled at what could be labeled as a strategic blunder.

"I'll show you in the next few moves," Shijin moved one of his wheel tiles to his far left.

Hana set down the white dragon on the edge of the fire lily's radius, poised to take Shijin's other wheel that was caught in the dragon's ring. Shijin pulled that tile back to safety with his other tiles. Feeling safe from any aggressive attacks from Shijin now, Hana set her white lotus tile to the left of her fire lily, while Shijin placed his own white lotus to the right of his two adjacent wheel tiles.

This was an uncomfortable position. Hana's strange deployment had rewarded her with a two tile advantage in the early game. In most scenarios, Shijin would have advised her to instantly aggressively trading pieces to come out ahead, but Hana's positioning and choice of pieces inhibited her from doing so.

That gave Shijin the opportunity that he needed.

As Hana set a sky bison on her left most side, Shijin swerved one of his wheels down towards leftmost center of the board, a move aimed at hitting the fire lily piece. Recognizing the danger, Hana moved her badgermole down diagonally so that it was sitting right next to the fire lily. Shijin moved other wheel down, targeting the defending badgermole.

Hana moved her wheel up to protect her badgermole, and Shijin had the opening that he wanted.

He quickly jumped in to take out the badgermole with his second wheel tile. As expected, Hana immediately moved with her wheel to trade. Then, Shijin used his second wheel to take out the fire lily tile, which effective removed both the lily and the white dragon from play. His wheel was now sitting right next to Hana's white lotus tile, and if it wasn't for Hana's wheel above the lotus, Hana would have lost next turn.

"Ah, I messed up," Hana finally let out a big sigh. Her serious expression returned to her usual childish self and she rubbed her hair with a lopsided grin on her face. Shijin began to eat. "But what do you think of that, Shijin? Pretty good opening right? I worked it up last night trying to experiment with that fire lily and white dragon tile."

"It's decent," Shijin shrugged. "The reason why I gave you the white dragon is because I hadn't yet to put down my white lotus tile yet. People usually throw the white dragon tiles after they know where the white lotus is located. That way, they can better coordinate an offensive. You just ended up not having enough pieces to do anything about my aggressive two wheel opening."

"I feel like it would have been better," Hana pointed at her wheel tile. "If I had put this tile down first instead of the chrysanthemum. I think the strategy was fine, just the actual ordering."

"That definitely played a part in it," Shijin agreed. "The minute you played that chrysanthemum, I knew it was hopeless to even think of clearing out that spot for me to put a sky bison, so I just opted to put down two wheels instead. You basically wasted two turns trying to fortify a position I was never going to use in the first place. At least if you had placed the wheel first, I might have still placed my sky bison on the right out of personal preference."

"I see, I see," Hana growled to herself. "And I actually thought I was going to catch you in this one. I even had more pieces than you at one point."

"You have to be careful not to let that get to your head," Shijin warned, pointing at a few of the pieces on the board. "I might have had four pieces to your seven, but how many of your tiles were actually useful? Your chrysanthemum wasn't doing much, and your badgermole could only defend a few tiles and was placed in an awkward position. The only tile that could threaten my white lotus was your wheel, since I had placed my lotus outside of your dragon's range. Your sky bison wasn't even going to move out of its place for a while."

"That's true," Hana murmured to herself. She clucked her tongue a few times and then picked up her cooled off soup to eat.

"This is mostly because you're indecisive," Shijin pointed out. "You can't decide between a defensive strategy and an offensive one. If you want to do a strategy oriented around the white dragon, you can't be placing chrysanthemums and badgermoles, because you need as many attacking pieces as possible. If you want a strategy for defense, having one more badgermole on the board is a necessity."

"In Pai Sho," Shijin continued. "Or at least what my mother taught me, is that it's a translation of your soul on the board, which is why the Air Nomads are so dominant at this game. Mastery is the synchronous movement between your inner motivations and feelings and how they show up on your moving pieces. A decisive player will have a calm and clear thinking mind, and he'll be able to pull off any strategy he wants to. I guess Air Nomads are just very good at clearing their heads."

"Maybe I should have the monks adopt me then?" Hana hopped on the bed, a piece of golden oiled dough in her mouth. She chewed. "They could teach me a thing or two about that."

"I have a different idea," said Shijin, set down his bowl. "I want you to meet someone today before we leave."

They quickly cleaned up their meal and Shijin led Hana and a tailing Kupo to the shop across the street from their inn. He quickly thanked the woman for a well-cooked breakfast, before leading his student through the rain towards the mountains on the other side of the village. There was no umbrella, so Shijin wrapped his cloak around Hana to cover her from the rain.

The morning road was populated with workers that were already wheeling in carts of unrefined coal to warehouses and boats. Even with the water forming huge puddles, kids were dancing in the streets, their fathers in the mines and their mothers bringing wet towels to their men. The slopes up ahead were filled with miners, walking into tunnels and climbing farther up to find new holes for precious stones and minerals.

"She should be there," said Shijin when they reached the base of the mountain. He pointed over the rocks at the far side of the mountain. Next to Shijin and Hana, the home at the base of the mountains had turned into a break house, tables and chairs brought out and makeshift roofs made from curtains on wooden poles.

"Who is she?" Hana asked. She looked at Shijin, who was already walking towards the house. "And why aren't you coming with me?"

"She's an old friend. Someone my mom saved during a disaster that happened in this village five years ago," Shijin said. "And I'm not coming with you, because I think you two will bond nicely without me."

Before she could protest further, Shijin was already gone, lost among the dozens of diggers moving up and about the wooden home. With a quick sigh, Hana turned in the other direction and began walking, her badgermole waddling beside her. Without Shijin's robes to cover her, she took quick steps towards the other side of the mountain, over the sharp rocks that threatened to cut open her sandals and the grass that tickled the edges of her toes.

Then, Hana saw her. Standing on the far side of the mountain, out of the sight of the miners and the village, a young girl stood facing the steep slopes of the mountain. Her legs hovered over the ground, held there by two strongly built wooden crutches. Her eyes scanned up and down the mountain, taking in every awkward incline and dangerous paths towards the peak. Like Hana, her hair was quite short, but it was much more soaked and heavy. She had been standing out for a while it seemed.

It only took a moment for the girl to notice Hana.

"Ah," she opened her mouth slightly. Hana was barely close enough to her to hear it. "I haven't seen you before. That means you must be the girl that Shijin was talking about yesterday."

"And you're the person that Shijin wanted me to talk to," Hana said, slowly. The girl's tone came off as confrontational, a hint of bitterness. "I'm Hana, and I'm Shijin's Pai Sho student. What's your name?"

"Tsuyo," the girl answered. "You learn Pai Sho from Shijin, huh?"

The girl named Tsuyo began ascending the hill without giving another glance at Hana, using her arms together to swing her body forward. Hana followed closely behind her, not exactly sure what Shijin had meant when he had said that the two would "bond nicely". It was a quiet walk. The rain had gotten softer, and now it was just a drizzle patting their heads with thin sleek drops.

By the time they were halfway up the mountain, Kupo had run off on his own, inspecting the different rocks in a circle around them. He occasionally picked one up and clawed at the insects. When they scurried away, he looked for the next boulder and searched under there for more things to scratch and nibble on.

"Tell me something, Hana," Tsuyo spoke all of a sudden. "Who is Shijin to you?"

"To me?" Hana was taken aback. "Well, he's my Pai Sho teacher."

"How did you meet him?" Tsuyo asked. Her tone sounded threatening for some reason, almost with a sense of ownership and a personal stake in Hana's answer. She was a very strange girl, Hana concluded. "Shijin's never taken up a Pai Sho student before."

"Well, he kind of destroyed the place I worked at," Hana laughed loudly. "And after that, since I had nowhere to go, I just tagged along and asked him to teach me Pai Sho."

The girl in front of Hana nodded her head silently, and then continued the tricky path up. It was a hard road, filled with rocks that mingled together to form an uneven climb, and Hana was surprised that Tsuyo navigated it so well. Her crutches seemed to always find just the right spot between the pebbles to give her stable footing amongst the jagged landscape. Even the slippery rocks were no match for her unwavering balance. The wooden crutches were surprisingly sturdy given how they were being used.

"So Tsuyo," Hana asked, now wondering what Shijin had meant when he said bond. "How do you know Shijin?"

"His mother saved me when this mountain had a massive avalanche five years ago," Tsuyo answered quickly. "I lost my legs and my father, but Shijin came back every year after that to check up on how I was doing. He actually built these crutches for me, believe it or not. It's a gift from his mother, he says, though I never understood what he meant. They're the reason why I can still move."

"That's incredible," Hana gasped. "And I complain when we walk for too many hours during a hot summer day."

"And yet, he takes you along with him," Tsuyo mumbled. "When Shijin came around two years ago, I asked him if he could take me on his journeys, but he refused. If I had known that begging to learn Pai Sho from him would have been all I needed to say, I would've done that long ago."

"Hey," Hana frowned, folding her arms. "I had to do a lot more than beg to get Shijin to take me. I'd like to think that Shijin chose to take me along with him."

"Are you so sure of that," Tsuyo swiveled around. She wasn't much taller than Hana, but from where she was standing, she towered over her like a queen over her subjects. "If Shijin hadn't taken you in, what would have happened to you? Could you have survived on your own?"

"Yes," Hana started to reply, a little bit flustered by the question. "It would have been hard, but I would have managed. I'm confident even more now than ever, now that I can play Pai Sho."

"I see," Tsuyo sighed. "Well, it's not like I have any right to say anything. Most people would look at me and say that I wouldn't be able to live a day out of the village. Sorry about that."

"Are you perhaps," a thought came to Hana, and she said it aloud. "Jealous?"

"It's hard not to," Tsuyo grinned, but it was a bitter grin. "When I first heard it, that's when I knew. I want to go to the Northern Water Tribe and fix up these legs of mine. They say they have a spirit oasis there and the world's best healers. That might not even be enough to undo the damage, but I don't want to grow old not trying."

"If I can prove to myself," Tsuyo tapped her crutches with her arms. "That I can cross mountains the way I am now, then I'll leave this village and head for the nearest port towards the Water Tribes."

"Aren't there people that can take you?" Hana asked. "You don't have to do this alone."

"My mother doesn't have much money, so I can't ask of them to provide for me," Tsuyo shrugged. "And as for doing this alone, someone once told me that if I ever want to overcome my injury, it's going to have to be a journey I experience myself. I guess since you've come around, I have a feeling that she's right."

"And your mom won't stop you?" Hana asked.

"If I really wanted to go somewhere," Tsuyo replied. "My mother wouldn't really be able to stop me."

"Tsuyo," Hana smiled. "You really want to travel don't you?"

The girl didn't answer, but the noticeable extra effort that Tsuyo put into each step after that was her answer. Together, they walked up the mountain in the cold morning rain, now completely silent. Tsuyo's concentration was remarkable, and Hana could see the determination in every step, an effortless grace that masked how hard the girl must have worked to allow her to even move without her legs.

"I can only concentrate on one Pai Sho game," Hana murmured. "Tsuyo looks like she can keep this up all day."

Step after step, the peak grew closer by the minute as Hana pushed herself to keep up with the girl in front of her. Her feet were getting a little sore, scratched in places when she wasn't paying attention the rocks and their sharp edges. Even Kupo looked like he was getting exhausted from his climb, and used his earthbending to make his walk a lot more comfortable.

And then, they reached the top of the mountain.

It wasn't very high, at least compared to the mountain ranges spanning behind them, but it was at least taller than any of the mountains that Hana had seen when in Taku. Kupo must have been afraid of this height, because the minute he reached the peak, he took a few leaps back. The storm clouds brewing above them felt so close, as if flying just a mere mile towards the sky would allow the two of them to touch the grey puffs of mist.

For the first time, Hana saw the road that she and Shijin were about to take, a long journey through wild forests and rocky roads. There was no sign of any towns beyond this point as the mountains obscured everything to the north. As the fall was ending, the greeneries on those mountains had almost completely faded, replaced by dry shrubs and trees that left half of the grey mountains naked and the other half with patches of orange and brown.

The mountains were covered by the clouds that wrapped around their middle and covered the tips. Below, at the foot of each of those mountains, acres of wild forests, some of them winter trees that still retained their dark green leaves, covered the earth. There was no road, no more towns that marked inns to stay at for the night, and no more rivers that they had been using for navigation and food.

Under the rain, the path to the Northern Air Temple looked daunting, terrifying, and beautiful all at once. Hana had once heard that every Airbender braved a pilgrimage across barren landscapes just like this one. Now she had seen it, it was hard to imagine how anyone but an Airbender could traverse a place like this.

"So Shijin has walked across here before," Hana said to herself. "That's incredible."

They could also see the village below. Everyone looked tiny, dots that looked like pepper sprinkled all over the town. The two could see miners on this side of the mountain, walking up and down the slopes with their gloves and pickaxes, bringing out of the caves loads of coal. The line that they formed from the mountain back to the town warehouses looked like a scurrying ant trail.

"Ah," Tsuyo's voice broke Hana from her sightseeing. The rain had picked up again. Tsuyo tapped her right crutch against a rock, and the wood skidded off rather violently. The rocks were more slippery than before, and the dirt was turning to mud. "That's unfortunate."

"You didn't think of a way back down?" Hana widened her eyes.

"No," Tsuyo shrugged. "I guess I didn't. It might sound lame, but I never thought I was going to get here with the rain. I guess I was a bit too stubborn."

"Well," Hana walked in front of Tsuyo and bent down, the palms of her hands facing up. "Then maybe this is why Shijin sent me."

For the first time, Hana noticed a nervous look on Tsuyo's face. Her cheeks turned red, and her eyes scanned rapidly around the mountain to search for maybe an alternate path. She must have not found any, because she inched closer to Hana after a few seconds.

"Don't tell anyone about this okay?" Tsuyo finally said. Hana backed up a little bit to allow Tsuyo to fall softly on her. If it wasn't for the wooden crutches, Tsuyo would have been incredibly light.

"That's what you're worried about?" Hana chuckled. "Let's go back down then."

After taking off her sandals, Hana took a deep breath, shook her shoulders to balance the girl on her back, gripped Tsuyo's thighs tightly, and began the slow trip down the hill. Each step was taken with extra precaution, every rock checked, every mud path inspected for how deep and solid it was.

"You're quite good at this," Tsuyo noticed, as Hana rubbed her feet over a large rock before preferring a smaller one that had better rooted itself into the ground. When they passed, Tsuyo noticed that the larger rock was standing on a pile of sliding mud. "Close call."

"I spent most of my life," Hana grunted, nudging a few rocks with her toes. "Balancing food in my hands, while walking through crowds of people who were more than happy dropping their bottles of alcohol and plates on the floor for me to trip over. You know, so they could flip my robes when I did."

"Sounds rough," Hana couldn't see what Tsuyo's face looked like when she said it, but from her tone Hana knew she was a little surprised. "Shijin never told me about that part."

"He rarely wants to know much about what my life was like before we met," Hana wanted to shrug, but was afraid she'd lose her balance. "And to be honest, my story isn't all that fun to listen to. I'd much rather talk about how my life turned around when I met Shijin."

"It can't be all that bad," Tsuyo didn't sound so sure about it. "Right?"

"There are people who've had it worse," Hana agreed. "But for someone who's a little weak like I am, it probably was a little more than I wanted to handle when I was younger."

"You've got to be pretty strong to carry a girl and her crutches down a mountain side," Tsuyo buried her face in Hana's shoulder.

"This?" Hana boasted. "This is nothing compared to what I had to do to get Shijin to teach me."

"What did he have you do?" Tsuyo asked cautiously.

"Remember when I said that I had to do more than just beg to get Shijin to teach me?" Hana asked. Tsuyo nodded. "Well you're right to think that Shijin probably thought I was going to be some kind of burden back then. He sent me off to find a badgermole and tame one. Only then would he teach me."

"Is that the same badgermole that's been following us around?" Tsuyo eyed Kupo, who was crawling around in the mud, but was never a few feet away from Hana. "It seems to have gotten attached to you."

"Well, Shijin sent me on a wild turtleduck chase for him," Hana reminisced. "I spent all night, climbing up and down the mountain, trying to find Kupo there in the rain. It was during the summer too, so it was humid and the rain didn't really help but get my clothes get sticky on my skin."

"Did you really want to learn Pai Sho that bad?" the girl on Hana's back widened her eyes.

"In some ways yes," Hana nodded. "But I never imagined that I'd get so close to the game now. I can now kind of understand why Shijin was reluctant to teach me. It's because you can't appreciate this game the way I tried to. It's something you have to experience."

It was then, as Tsuyo was contemplating Hana's words, as Kupo leapt from one rock to another, and as Hana was stepping into a patch of mud, that a rumble shook the mountains. Voices of men cried out from the other side of the mountain. Loose rocks started falling around Hana and Tsuyo, and the badgermole near them stood frozen in place.

"It's collapsing!" Hana and Tsuyo could hear from the other side.

The two of them turned, and at the top of the mountain, a horde of man sized boulders began to tumble towards them.

* * *

><p>"So how many days do you need," Liang said when the house was all quiet. She had ushered all of the miners out once Shijin had stepped into the room. The two were alone now.<p>

"Enough food and water for three days," Shijin explained. "After that, there are a few other towns where I can pull some favors from."

"That's not enough to get through the mountain range, you know that," Liang sighed. "Look, you don't have to worry about the Wu Jian getting uptight and dealing with people helping a known fugitive. We'll be fine here."

"And I'm saying," Shijin argued back. "That you don't need to worry about three days rations not being enough. The girl and I have enough leftovers and some spare coins if we run into any trouble. Plus, I'm an Airbender. It's not like I can't fight."

"I like the irony," Liang rolled her eyes. "Look, Kawa saved my daughter's life, so I'll be here if you ever need my help. If you're in real trouble, you can let me know. The folks around here who still remember you probably treat you as family. You can trust the town."

"Once we're in the mountain ranges," Shijin said. "The Wu Jian will mostly lose our trail. They'll never track an Airbender in there unless they really think they've caught him. I've thrown them off our trail for a while now, so it's all right. Besides, shouldn't you be happy I'm not asking for too much?"

"No, I'm worried out of my mind," Liang replied. "You know, Tsuyo cares about you. A lot. I don't think she'd ever forgive me if I didn't send you away with everything you need. Speaking of Tsuyo, though, where is she today?"

"I think she's…" Shijin started.

And that's when he heard it.

"Get out! The mine is collapsing! It's collapsing!"

In a burst of speed, Shijin was out the door and turned his head to face the mountain. The miners on the surface of the mountain were sprinting away as a rumble shook the caves that had been dug beneath the mountains. Seconds later, the mine collapsed, leaving whoever was still in there trapped. As it did, a combination of the massive shaking and the mud that had accumulated on the mountain caused the top to break loose and fall.

Hundreds of rocks that had been perched at the top began to roll down, powered by the mudslide that was rolling towards the base of the mountain. The rocks and mud slid in all directions, crushing all plant life and smothering any tree trunks that they came across.

"Hana," Shijin gasped, before opening his staff. He flung the staff and allowed the wings to open up as the artifact to curve around him in a circle. Liang burst from the door as well, looking at Shijin with a terrified expression.

"Is she," Liang mouthed, tears springing to her eyes.

"Don't worry," Shijin took a deep breath as the staff came back around towards him. "I'm my mother's son. Farewell."

The staff approached and Shijin jumped up and landed on it, using a gust of wind to propel him towards the mountain. As he approached, he swirled around, tiny droplets appearing on the edges of his staff as the rain intensified. To his left, the mountain was falling down on him, the mud piling on more mud, the rocks causing other loose boulders to dislodge.

In the thickening rain, it was hard to get a sight of anything on the mountain. So Shijin dived in closer, getting dangerously close to the falling mud and rock that occasionally bounced out at him. Using his feet to balance out his staff's angle and pressing down on the staff whenever he needed another burst of air, he swirled through a volley of rocks and reached the backside of the mountain.

And then he saw them. A badgermole standing frozen against the onslaught of the falling mountain and two girls trying desperately to reach the bottom of the mountain in time. The slide was halfway to them already and was encircling the three of them. Luckily, the abundance of trees and dense foliage on this side of the mountain kept the avalanche from completely overrunning them.

"Hana!" Shijin shouted at the top of his lungs. Over the roar of the landslide, she couldn't hear him until he was almost right over her. "Hana!"

"Shijin," his student cried out. "Here, take Tsuyo first!"

Hana calmly put Tsuyo on the ground before picking her back up in her arms. As Shijin approached, Hana held out the girl and Shijin gently used a pocket of air to pick up the girl and lift her into his arms. Tsuyo, looking quite disheveled by the airbending but comfortable in Shijin's arms, turned right back to Hana, who was still carrying Tsuyo's crutches in her arms.

"Hana!" she shouted.

"I'll be okay," Hana shouted, pointing at Kupo. "I have an earthbender with me. Shijin, just get Tsuyo to safety first before coming back to get me."

"You stay alive," was all Shijin could say, knowing there was no way he could carry three people on his staff at one time. He swerved around towards a batch of tall rocks at ground level.

"Okay, Kupo," Hana breathed heavily, patting the badgermole to start moving, but no matter how hard she petted him, Kupo would not move from his position on the rock. "Just one step at a time. Come on, don't be scared."

_When he wants to show us his strength, he will._

Hana took another look at the frozen badgermole, remembering the words that Shijin had told her when she first had come to this town. The badgermole stood poised, staring straight back at the falling rocks and dirt. His legs were spread out farther than normal, his eyes squinted as if he was finally concentrating on something. Kupo, for the first time that Hana had caught him, looked serious about something.

With his small body, Kupo leaned back, growled, and then stomped the rock he was standing on with his front two feet.

Hana could feel a jolt.

Once again, Kupo raised his front feet into the air, and with another growl stomped his feet back onto the rock.

Underneath the badgermole, the earth split in two, creating a fissure that burst from beneath the rock and rocketed towards the incoming avalanche. When it reached the flood of boulders, the collision caused an explosion that hurled dust and debris into the air. For a moment, it rained pebbles, not water.

The ground beneath the mountain fell apart, causing the falling rocks and mud to sink into the crevice below. From the earth came a deafening roar as the ground shook violently at the splitting mountain. More and more of the mudslide fell into the hole, as if the mountain was bowing to the might of a badgermole.

But even as the tremor continued, the avalanche quickly filled up the hole that Kupo had created, and the remainder of it started rolling once again down the mountain, crashing down onto stumps and other rocks with full speed. The momentary feeling of triumph was over, and Hana, with eyes wide, quickly turned to her savior.

Well," Hana picked up the badgermole, who seemed to look quite pleased with himself and tired. "That's not good at all."

The landslide was almost on top of her now, like a pack of wild wolves closing in on its prey. Because of fissure that Kupo had created, a portion of the avalanche had swung around it and had now completely encircled Hana. It took only a moment for Hana to realize that there was nowhere else to run without getting hopelessly caught and crushed in the flood.

In her panic, she said the first thing that popped into her mind.

"Mom!"

A burst of air brushed past her and stood in between Hana and the landslide. For a moment, Hana couldn't even discern Shijin through the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

"That's supposed to be my line," the Airbender yelled, his arms flexed, his staff clipped to his back.

With a deep breath, Shijin curled his arm back, and as the mudslide approached, he shot out both of his hands, sending a surge of air to block the incoming avalanche. The rocks and mud hit his barrier with tremendous force, and Shijin was almost knocked back in the process. The boulders and dirt washed over the shield in a dome like shape, but no matter how much of it washed over the top and sides of Shijin's air bubble, more and more kept coming.

Hana then noticed that Shijin was skidding back, almost losing his balance as the landslide threatened to topple all over him.

Without hesitation, Hana dropped the two crutches in her hand and braced herself against Shijin's back, using all of her strength to keep Shijin from falling backwards.

"This is something I want you to know," Hana shouted over the roar of the avalanche. "When I was little, if I was ever afraid, my mother would always be there to watch over for me. She's not here now, Shijin, so you're the only one that I have."

The two of them held that position for a full minute, the seeming endless torrent of flailing earth smashing against Shijin's thin air wall. Hana's diminishing strength and body was the only thing keeping Shijin from toppling over and getting trampled from the onslaught. And yet, despite all of that, Shijin stood firm for that entire minute, until every rock and slab of mud had washed over them.

When it all passed, Shijin let out a large breath and began gasping for air. Hana had been holding in her breath too and the two of them looked at each other with a bewildered expression, as if they were both thinking the same thing.

That the other one was nuts.

"What was that," Shijin laughed. "Supposed to be your last line or something?"

"No," Hana puffed out her cheeks like she always did. "I knew you'd pull through for me. Where's Tsuyo?"

"I landed her on one of the rocks that she was sitting on yesterday," Shijin pointed at one of the huge boulders below. From there, a person waved at them. "Where are her crutches?"

"Here," Hana picked up the fallen sticks. "Tsuyo said that these were gifts from your mother."

"Yeah," Shijin nodded. "These were probably as close to my mother as much as I was or our sky bison. It was as part of her as any of her arms and legs, and I thought it'd be appropriate to give it to someone that my mother put her life on to save."

Hana took a look at the crutches, noticing the intricate Air Nomad designs sketched on the surface and a hidden compartment for flaps that looked like it had been patched up by average craftsmanship.

"We'll have to rush back to the inn and grab our things. Afterwards, we're going to have to get going," Shijin said suddenly. "Every Wu Jian within a few miles will have seen what I just did. If we thought we had the Wu Jian foiled, we definitely blew our cover with this one. Keep Kupo warm. He's probably tired from that brilliant display. We probably only have time to give these back to Tsuyo. Then we have to leave."

Hana and Shijin walked briskly down the slope. At the bottom, Hana handed the two crutches to the girl sitting on the rock. Tsuyo hopped down with them and gave Hana a quick embrace.

"I was wrong about you," said Tsuyo. "I would thank Shijin for saving my life, but I think the credit goes to you this time."

"I think you proved yourself today," Hana replied. "I hope we'll meet again one day when your legs have healed."

"Come back again for _huo guo_," Tsuyo smiled. "And bring Shijin along too."

"Quickly," Shijin interrupted.

"Bye," Hana said.

That was the last thing Hana said to Tsuyo before she and Shijin stole off into the morning, a sleeping badgermole in Hana's arms.

In the distance, the neighing of ostrich horses could be heard, and Shijin knew that the chase that he had put off for so long had finally begun.

_To be continued…_


	11. Lesson Eleven

**Lesson Eleven: Splitting Up Your Pieces**

* * *

><p>When they left Tsuyo's town, the rain continued, harder than before. They continued onto a trail unmarked even on Shijin's maps. At first, Hana had been skeptical about the faint markings and the tree branches that looked like they could strangle a bear. The fact that the maps didn't show where the path led only caused more concern. In the end, Shijin had to use some spare ink in his pack to mark the route they were taking to show Hana that he knew where they were going.<p>

The fall season had turned the northern pass into a collage of brown, orange, and yellow. Most of the trees had already shed their leaves, waiting for the winter to take hold. The bushes had turned a light golden color, while some of the leaves that had fallen on top of them still maintained a faint orange hue. Many of the leaves had already turned brown and had decayed with the end of fall, and it was not the loveliest of sites to see. The fact that it rained and that there were few trees that provided adequate cover for them only made it more unwelcoming.

"It's supposed to look that way," Shijin had said when he tried to allay her fears of walking through such a bleak and uninviting place. "Besides, the reason it's not on the map is because my mother never had a chance to mark this path. She died shortly after we crossed it for the first time."

"Real assuring Shijin," Hana muttered, keeping her head concentrated on the mud tucking in between her toes.

"Well, look at it this way," Shijin patted the girl on the shoulders, and then continued down a slight decline that followed along a small marsh. "It wasn't the trail that killed her."

According to Shijin, it was an old route that didn't involve scaling nigh impossible slopes to reach the Northern Air Temple sitting near the tip of the world. It involved trekking swamps and forests that snaked through the valleys between the mountains. Years of erosion had made the road at times unrecognizable, with portions of the paved path eroded away by the rainwater. There were times when the three of them would step off of the road to throw off their pursuers before reconnecting with it a few miles later.

With the rain falling heavy on them, Shijin used his recently bought Earth Kingdom attire as coats to protect both of them from getting soaked too heavily. He would often give Hana his large overalls as cover. He kept his maps and Pai Sho tiles inside his robes, but kept what was left of their money strapped in leather bags around his waist. He kept them as dry as possible with his airbending, blowing off their drenched clothes whenever they had a chance to rest.

Only a few bursts of air though, as the Wu Jian were always listening, and Shijin feared that the expert hunters were closing in all around the three of them. There were moments when even through the rain, the neighing of their steeds could be heard echoing through the mountains, and Hana and Shijin would pause before picking up the pace. At times the airbender would mistake the splashing of the rain for the footsteps of mercenaries encircling them in a death vice.

There was no more time for Pai Sho, no more fishing on the calm creeks of the Serpent's Lake, no more visiting old friends, and their light conversations came to a stop. There was just a long rigorous road ahead of them and men in hot pursuit behind. At night, Shijin found any trees with leaves in the area and chose those as their temporary camps. There was no fire to keep them warm or provide light, so the two just kept close to each other and ate with whatever light the moon could give them.

Their food consisted of bread that they had picked up back in the villages and the edible raw vegetables and fruit that grew in the surrounding area. They had some spare fish, but those they saved for their badgermole companion, who wasn't always fond of some of the more bitter leaves that Shijin picked on the way. The monk had started to want Kupo to walk beside him while they were treading through the landscape, for reasons Hana was unaware of.

One night at the end of their first week in the wilderness, there was a flash of lightning followed by the roar of thunder. Shijin was mildly surprised that Hana didn't flinch or jump at the sight of a streak of light hitting the earth just a few miles away from them. In the far distance, however, the horses of their trackers shouted out at the unexpected thunderstorm. That was when Hana huddled closer to Shijin.

"How are they still so close to us," Hana tucked herself tighter underneath the makeshift blanket made from Shijin's airbender robes and some of Hana's spare clothes. They were always dirty these days. There was no time to wash them.

"When you get trained as a hunter, even the most agile and stealthiest of animals don't escape you," Shijin said. "Leftover footprints not cleared by the mud, broken tree branches, not to mention we are travelling on a road, albeit one that isn't usually mapped out well. We're still quite far from our pursuers, and this road has many diverging points. They haven't caught up to us yet. If we can get ourselves to the deeper forests in this area, the Wu Jian might have to give up the search."

"Why?" Hana asked. "They've already followed us this far."

"It's something my mother and I did often to avoid capture," Shijin explained. "The deep forests in this area are very dense, which makes people hard to track especially during the night. Most Wu Jian have little experience in navigating the pathless forests like my mother and I. They might not give up the chase, but they would rather wait for us to leave the forest rather than getting caught in a wild and fruitless search."

"I kind of get the feeling what we're going through now is how you used to travel with your mom," Hana noted, clenching her fingers around the blanket. With Shijin around, she never had to worry about sleeping on too many damp surfaces. He would always dry them for her to protect the two of them from getting sick. "And you were younger than I am now?"

"A bit younger," Shijin recalled. He turned to Hana with a joking expression. "Well, it was a little bit different then. At least I was a trained airbender, who had the luxury of a master airbender and a sky bison to evade the Wu Jian."

"Why were they even after you?" Hana asked. "It doesn't seem like the nomads get in trouble with Earth Kingdom folk often."

"My mother had a soft spot for the people that were being terrorized by Chin the Conqueror," Shijin said. "That soft spot wasn't always there for the terrorizers. She got in trouble with the wrong people, and that set them after us. She didn't really mind. She was never afraid of them and would fight them off quite easily if they ever got close."

"She fought against them?" Hana's expression was surprised, a jaw agape and eyes wide. "I never knew airbenders were the fighting type."

"Well, my mother was a fighter, and she fought many of the Wu Jian," Shijin seemed a bit more relaxed telling this story. "Now, I on the other hand, probably wouldn't last very long against too many of them. I'm well trained, and by my mother no less, but I don't think I was ever fond of the combat type."

"Hence the Pai Sho," Hana nodded her head. She was finally starting to get sleepy. Her eyes drooped, her mouth opened in a yawn, and even the sound of thunder couldn't jolt her from the lure of sleep. Still, she had one more question before her eyelids closed. "Shijin, what happens if they catch up to us?"

Shijin didn't want to answer that question. Not yet at least. The frightening thought of having to fend off an entire search party of Wu Jian was a frightening prospect, one that Shijin had hoped he'd never get involved in. For a moment, the monk considered cursing his luck and wishing to be rid of the burdens that had led him here.

But then he saw Hana's sleepy face, her cheeks pressed against his shoulder, her hands clutched over the warm blankets, and the only heat that she received was from the heat emanating from Shijin's body. Shijin retracted his previous thoughts, and took a big sigh.

"We'll just have to worry about that when it happens," Shijin said. "For now, we'll have to do our best to make sure they never reach us."

Hana, seemingly satisfied with the answer, nodded and her breathing became rhythmic and soft. Another crack of thunder could be heard, but Hana was already asleep.

And so the first week of their chase passed without trouble.

One day, in the middle of their second week in the valleys of the northern mountains, the rain stopped, and Shijin said that they were going to move faster than they did before. The water that had halted to a drizzle no longer washed away their deep footprints in the soggy mud, and the skies began to clear as the dark storm clouds began to depart for the south. The sun shined through the falling leaves, covering the forest in patches of light.

Hana remembered that day clearly. When the rain began to settle down, Shijin looked up at the sky, narrowed his eyes as if cursing at the scattering mist before turning a quick eye to the scattered bushes behind him. He grumbled something incoherent before waving at Hana to walk at a brisker pace. He bent down and tapped Kupo slightly on his backside as well, whispering for the badgermole to start moving.

That morning was frighteningly quiet, and the silence lasted until late into the evening. The air was still after a week of rain, and it had a very strong scent filled with the herbs and flowers that were washed all over the place during the storm. Some of the flowers Hana recognized as poisonous plants that were often mistaken for tea leaves. Every once in a while, a bird would fly out of its nest near the ground to inspect the weather, and the rustling of its feathers and the bushes around it would cause Shijin to grip his hands tightly over his glider.

They were heading down the side of a creek, the water flowing with bits of mud and red berries, next to the base of a mountain. There were many bushes around here with scarce trees lining up next to the creek like street lamps. The bank of the small river was covered in gleaming bits of sand and rock. The sky was perfectly clear from here, and for the first time in a week, Hana could feel the full warmth of the sun over her entire body, even though it was a sun falling over the horizon.

That was when Hana realized why Shijin had kept Kupo at the front of their group.

Kupo stopped completely and growled, and Shijin turned to his student behind him. The bushes to their left rustled, and the whirl of a spinning object came from within. Hana could feel herself getting pushed aside, and a gust of air knocked the gleaming weapon into a tree. It was an axe, and it buried itself into the tree's trunk with a thud that sounded like it could hack through a soldier's iron armor.

The owner of the weapon launched himself from his cover shortly after. He was a big man, and he carried with him a lance that was probably as tall as Hana was. He was wearing the outfits of the Wu Jian. Soggy bandages were wrapped around his wrists. His upper body was dressed in green cloth and vest. A darker jade cloak was tied around his neck. His irritated eyes were shadowed by his bamboo conical hat which shined like gold in the sun's rays.

"Get back," Shijin barked at Hana, pointing at the bank of the creek as he threw his belongings over there. Hana grabbed Kupo, who was still baring his teeth at their new visitor. She rushed behind some of the larger rocks next to the creek as the battle began.

The assassin dived in towards the monk, who hopped back as the lance spun over his head. Shijin's opponent withdrew his weapon and struck again from the side. The sharp spear clipped the side of Shijin's robes and tore off part of the fine fabric. The spear then twirled in the opposite direction as the mercenary rotated the weapon around to strike Shijin from the other direction.

Again, Shijin leapt back in defense, but he miscalculated. The butt of the lance appeared like nothing more than round well carved out wood, but as it spun, a hidden compartment inside the weapon opened as the spear rotated, causing a small knife to lock into place and extending the range of the lance. Shijin quickly drew a small pocket of air around his hands to push the weapon away, but before he could react, the weapon had already sliced a bit of the left side of his stomach open.

The pain came and subsided quickly as the adrenaline built up in the airbender's body. Shijin wasn't given time to take a single deep breath, because the Wu Jian soldier charged once again, this time bringing up the spear over his head and slamming it down, hoping to crush Shijin's skull. A single side step was enough to avoid this, and the speared thumped on the drying earth with the sound of a muffled drum.

Shijin used this opportunity to engage his opponent at a closer range. Using the air under his feet as accelerators, he covered the long distance between his assailant in a less than a second. But his opponent seemed to expect this and dropped the spear in his hand in favor of two kunai that were hidden in his vest. He twirled them in his hands and charged the airbender in front of him.

With a series of ducks and twirls, Shijin managed to escape a quick combination of slashes from the kunai and when the mercenary swung his kunai out wide, leaving his midsection exposed, Shijin responded with a powerful punch that launched the assassin into the air and slammed him into the nearby tree. Gripping his staff tightly, the monk held it front of him like a battering ram and rushed towards the tree. The Wu Jian agent, disoriented but still conscious, launched the two weapons in his hands to try to land a killing blow.

Shijin tucked his stomach in and blew a gust of air and propelled the kunai from his sight before using his full speed to ram the staff into the gut of his enemy. The agent's eyes flung wide open, as if his eyes were trying to escape their sockets, red foam started building at the corners of his mouth, and his big body slumped downwards as the air that built up at the tip of Shijin's staff was released into his abdomen at contact.

It was only then that the airbender took a massive breath. He gasped for air and knelt down besides his fallen foe. He instinctively reached his hand toward the wound in his left side, feeling the warm blood drip onto his fingers. He ripped off a portion of his torn robes and wrapped it around his waist, tying a strong knot to stem the flow of blood. His vision blurred a little as the excitement from battle faded away, leaving a strong sting in his side and a minor headache.

"Shijin!" Hana rushed to her teacher's side, with all of his things on her shoulders. She reached out to inspect the wound, but her hand hesitated as she saw Shijin's red fingers wiping against his makeshift bandage. Her eyes widened as she looked at Shijin's pained expression. "Oh no, this is serious."

"It's just a flesh wound," Shijin grunted. He looked at the man's prone form. The blood that poured through the cracks in the man's teeth had still not soaked into the uniform. There was still time. "But this man was just a scout, and judging from how he attacked us so openly, I'm thinking we don't have a lot of time before the Wu Jian close in around us."

Ignoring the stench of body odor, Shijin undressed the assassin, before dragging his body into a nearby brush and covering him with as many large leaves as possible. He folded the Wu Jian attire into a bundle and then stuffed the two kunai that he had blown away inside his robe pockets. He broke the lance and scattered the pieces.

"Let's get moving," Shijin ordered, pulling everything off of Hana but his mother's maps, coin purse, and Pai Sho tiles and throwing them aside. When Hana stared blankly at the wound, which was turning Shijin's torn orange robes a dark red, the airbender merely shook his head and shook Hana tightly. "This is not the time to think about that, Hana. I'll be fine. Keep Kupo close to you, and start remembering the things I taught you at the start of the season."

The neighing of ostrich horses, now clearer than ever before, set Hana's feet into action. They must have had heard the sound of airbending from the recent battle. There were now the loud voices of people booming behind them. Birds squawked and took flight.

Together, the three ran down the creek, their feet splashing against the bank and soaking their toes. It was cold and uncomfortable, but the waters were filled with smooth rocks rather than the sharp edged stones that would have slowed them down if they weren't too careful. Shijin kept Hana in front of him, always turning around to watch for any sight of the enemy and kept his ears open for the whistling of an arrow.

At the base of the creek, there was another slope that ascended yet another mountain in the northern pass. As the three of them climbed upwards into a small clearing, Shijin could see that this mountain was covered with a dark evergreen forest, different from the dying trees behind them, and exactly what they needed to evade the Wu Jian. On another day Shijin might have chosen not to travel through such a mysterious and dangerous looking place. But today it was the perfect hiding spot.

Before Shijin could speak however, the rough sound of hoofs came bursting through the bushes behind them and yet another member of the Wu Jian arrived, his knuckles clenched as he jumped off of his steed. Another ostrich horse joined the fray, and this Wu Jian soldier was carrying a long mace attached to a metal chain. They stared at the two fugitives above them on the slope, before looking at each other as if silently communicating how to best apprehend the airbender.

Farther out, more horses could be heard, followed by the orders of at least two more men. Shijin took a quick look at his surroundings to evaluate his chances. He at least had the high ground advantage, meaning that he would have to use less energy to fight while his enemies had to battle the natural landscape to reach him and Hana. He also still had his staff, and while he couldn't fly for fear of enemy archers and his wound, it was still a more potent weapon than any other fighting tool the Wu Jian had on them.

The only problem now, was the girl standing behind him, frozen at the daunting images of vicious killing machines. Hana was too vulnerable and exposed to any of these soldiers who were experts in both close and long ranged combat, and she definitely had no experience in fighting against trained killers. With this many Wu Jian, there was no guarantee that Shijin could guarantee her protection, even if she hid behind a few rocks like last time.

However, there was the forest behind them, and if Shijin could buy enough time for her, there would be no way the Wu Jian would be able to find her in the vast deep forests that stretched over the top and back portion of the mountain, especially if she had a badgermole that was growing more powerful by the day. With the maps that she still had on her shoulders, maps with routes and secret paths that even the Wu Jian didn't know about, Hana could make the hard but possible journey to Ba Sing Se, where she'd be safe behind a wall that even Chin the Conqueror was wary of marching on.

She knew some Pai Sho of course, and Shijin had told her of friends that she could call favors from. There was also enough spare money to last months if spent frugally.

It might not have been the best decision to make, but Shijin failed to see any alternatives given how quickly the situation was worsening.

"Who thought that someone like me," Shijin murmured, a bitter smile growing on his face. "Would end up doing something like this? A little out of character, don't you think mom?"

But then, Shijin turned to Hana, and he could see her shaking knees, her wide eyes, her hands curved awkwardly. She looked back at him, like a child to a parent, looking for protection and a solution to their predicament. It was in that moment, that the airbender cast aside all doubts. There was someone he wanted to protect, and right now she needed his help more than ever.

"Hana," Shijin whispered. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I need you to run deep into the forest. Run, take Kupo with you, and don't look back. Keep running."

The girl turned around to look at the daunting forest. She didn't shake her head when she turned back to face Shijin. She merely nodded, pushing her lips together as if to silence herself from saying anything rash. She must have realized what this meant for the two of them and their journey.

It was over.

"Don't worry," Shijin nodded towards the forest. "I'll be right behind you."

"No, you won't," Hana said. Her response was firm.

"No," Shijin smiled, affording to turn for a moment and patting the girl on the head. "I won't be. Now get going. Now is not the time for goodbyes. Remember everything that I taught you. You have everything you need to get to safety, and Kupo will protect you. Quickly."

"I still have all your Pai Sho tiles and money," Hana bit her lip and turned. She squeezed her eyes shut, holding back the tears. She couldn't have foggy eyes if she was to run for her life. She called out to Kupo, who ran up to her with his usual confused looking expression. "You better be at Ba Sing Se when I get there if you want to see them again."

"I won't be," Shijin replied curtly. "Now get going."

She didn't know what else to say, so Hana ran, putting all of her strength into her legs, kicking up and down furiously. Her badgermole friend followed, and the two of them swiftly began ascending the slope towards the deep and dark forest ahead of them. Her thighs and heels were burning from all the running she had already done today, but there was a soft wind behind her that was giving her power and resolve to push her body to its limits. It didn't feel like the evening breeze.

It felt like Shijin's goodbye.

The Wu Jian charged forward. The first one with the clenched knuckles smacked the earth, sending an attack underground aimed directly at stopping Hana. Kupo, however, sensing the seismic irregularities building underneath him, turned and slammed the ground, launching a counter attack in the same direction before swiveling on his feet to continue running. The ground erupted where the two forces collided, shooting dirt into the air like a newfound water geyser.

Before the two Wu Jian could strike again at his student, Shijin drew out his glider and set a slash of wind at the two of them, knocking their ostrich horses off their feet and sending the two agents ducking for cover. As the airbender did this, the wound in his side opened a little more, and the blood that had recently coagulated cracked as new blood leaked out into his already drenched bandages. Shijin crunched his teeth together to stave off the pain before sending another powerful storm of air at the two mercenaries.

A third ostrich horse neighed, and Shijin turned his neck as the rider leapt over a series of rocks behind Shijin and charged at Hana with a bow and arrow in his hands. It took only a second for Shijin to launch his staff like a javelin at this new foe. The wooden artifact plunged into the man's ribs, knocking him off his horse and left him sprawling on the ground clutching his waist.

Seeing the airbender relinquish his glider, his first two opponents charged once more, and the man with the mace came first, swinging his weapon from the safety of his long chains. Without his staff, Shijin could only use his hands to deflect the mace, pushing it away from him whenever it came close to his head. The other man with the clenched fists came in closer, and Shijin could see the bronze thorns on the man's knuckles.

The airbender clapped his hands together and a bubble of air burst from his silhouette, hurling his opponents a sizable distance away from him. With a little bit of breathing room, Shijin turned to see Hana had already reached the entrance to the forest. She seemed scared, as she should be, and she turned back to Shijin, as if begging him to pull out a miracle and change their circumstances. The airbender merely shook his head and mouthed one last word at her.

_Go._

And then Hana went, disappearing into the shadows. Soon, the evening sun would set, and there would be no way for the Wu Jian to pursue her through a forest that dense and dark. Shijin forced himself to think that way.

"Now," Shijin took a deep breath. The pain of the wound was starting to overcome the adrenaline that was spiking within him. The three Wu Jian agents, including the man who had his sides crushed by Shijin's glider, cautiously advanced and encircled the airbender, and a fourth man soon entered the scene, taking a stand at the back of the other agents, watching the monk carefully with a pair of swords dangling from his waist.

"What am I going to do now?"

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><p>It wasn't until the sun had completely dropped that Hana had stopped running. She hadn't run like this since the time she dragged Shijin all the way from Omashu. Before she was running away from a place she had lived all her life. Now she was running for her life, away from a new and exciting adventure that she didn't want to let go.<p>

It seemed like the beginning of that summer was so long ago, and now here she was, all alone in a deep dark forest with no one but a growing badgermole to keep her company.

Shortly after running, she threw up the meals she had eaten during the day, her body unable to keep anything in her stomach anymore. Exhaustion caught up with her, and since not even the faintest sound of fighting could be heard from where she was standing, Hana wanted to stop and sleep.

By then, the tears she had shed had mixed in with her sweat, and she couldn't tell whether her eyes were puffy because of the salty water irritating her eyes or her leaking eyes that didn't stop until she forced herself to stop in fear of over dehydration. There was no water after all in such a dark place.

There was little moon tonight, a mere crescent in the sky that didn't even reach the depths of the forest, the tall trees blocking out the yellow glow of the moon. The animals in the area were alive with sound and activity, oblivious to the little girl kneeling down on all fours.

After gaining her breath, Hana went to pick up the bags that Shijin had left to her. She could hear the clacks of Shijin's Pai Sho tiles inside his bag, along with the clinking of his coins. Next to them were the maps that lay dried by Shijin's airbending, filled with information of all of Shijin's contacts and roads that he had mapped over a childhood of adventure.

Just like every time before they set out to a new town, Hana checked what was left of the bags. A loaf of bread in the bag with the maps, along with a few pieces of soggy fish wrapped in thin paper was all that was left of her rations. In the darkness, Hana wasn't too sure of picking out any of the vegetation and berries that Shijin had found so easily, so what was left of her food would have to do until much later.

She was also concerned about the Wu Jian and what would be waiting for her outside of the forest, beyond the protection of the evergreen trees looming over her like silent guardians. How long would they wait for her? Had Shijin drawn their attention off of her completely? How long could she stay here?

Not long, Hana reckoned, which was why leaving now, under the cover of darkness might be the best way to go. Hana faintly recalled Shijin talking about an old man named Lao Yu in a fishing village to the east of these mountains and decided that perhaps it was time to give him a visit.

"What do you say Kupo?" Hana wiped her mouth of what remained of the vomit. "What do you say we keep going for tonight?"

The badgermole yawned, but stood up surprisingly and stood at attention next to Hana. And then, he began to look around, as if looking for something that had up till now been in their lives. It didn't take long for Hana to know that Kupo was wondering where Shijin had gone.

"We won't be able to see him for a while," Hana knelt down and stroked the animal's fur. "We're on our own now, Kupo."

And so, after slinging her bags over her shoulder, Hana began the slow walk through the forest, munching on her last loaf of bread and holding tightly onto a bag of Pai Sho tiles.

_To be continued..._


	12. Lesson Twelve

**A/N: **For anyone who was (and still is) following this story, I'm sorry it took so long for me to get anything out. My brain's been dead, not to mention that business school frequently requires that I indulge in business like activities for the sake of finding my future career. Anyhow, here's the next chapter!

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><p><strong>Lesson Twelve: Following the Elusive Sky Bison<strong>

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><p>"Seigi. Are you going to fly or not?"<p>

A little girl stood at the edge of a tall mountain surrounded by a morning mist. She looked frightened, her robes too thin for the high altitude cold. She called out to the boy who treating the air as if they were waves rolling over an ocean, skidding around with his feet on his glider.

"Shijin," the girl named Seigi yelled. "Can we just go back now? I can't do it."

The boy frowned, and then hopped back down to the ledge where she stood, her hands clinging to her own staff as the air rushed forward as he landed. He pouted, looked at her up and down, then back at the cliff, then back at her. With a pout still on his face, he ripped the staff from the girl's hands and pounded it on the floor, unveiling the wings of the glider, spreading out like an orange fan. It also had a very beautiful artistic design, dark red flowers painted on its surface.

"You said you wanted to be like my mom," said the boy. "How can you be like her when you're too scared of even flying? Now, come on, before the sun rises and the elders get mad at us again."

The girl whimpered.

"Don't even worry," the boy said. He gave the staff back to the girl, and helped her put her hands on the frame of the glider.

"Just jump," he said. "And if anything goes wrong, I'll save you."

Grasping the glider firm, and with the boy's hands holding her shoulders to keep her from shaking, the girl edged closer and closer to the cliff. The wind felt cooler and cooler as she approached. She looked back at the boy, who gave her a thumbs up and a cheeky grin, and then looked back down.

The girl bit down on her lip, closed her eyes, and prepared to jump.

"Hey, hey, hey," the boy interrupted. "Don't fly with your eyes closed. The most beautiful sights are when you make the first leap."

The girl took another deep breath, and slowly she opened her eyes again. There was a bright glow trying to burst through the fog covering the mountains. A sudden curiosity sparked in her, and as if it swiped away all of her hesitation, the girl kicked off, felt the wind push her high into the air, and greeted the morning sun in the clouds for the first time.

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><p>Seigi Nohito ran into the Wu Jian not long after she left the town of Taku.<p>

It was in a small village to the south of the city, in a valley between the two mountain ranges bordering against peninsula. Seigi visited this town whenever she passed through, as unknown to many it had some of the lowest prices for high quality herbs and fresh spices for tea. The tea shop owner's name was Bo. He was an old Pai Sho enthusiast whose tea was only well known among the most exquisite of tea circles.

Here, the rain was still a drizzle, but there was a harsh icy current pushing east toward the Serpent's Lake, and bringing along with it a horde of dark clouds over the mountain pass. In the village, the winds died when they reached the bottom of the pass, and the cold sat still in the air. Around town, children cycled between playing around in the mud and taking cover near warm fires and stoves.

"It looks like winter will be as cold as ever," the old man Bo was dressed in a simple silk robe, with his head covered by a stuffed fur hood. He placed the pot of hot tea on the table, and then took a seat. "I'll have your usual spices ready in just a few moments. My assistant just needs to add the correct proportions of chrysanthemum to the last mix."

"Thanks," Seigi poured herself a small cup of Bo's tea and took a sip. Immediately, she could feel a rush of energy course down her throat. Bo's teas usually had that effect. She flashed a Pai Sho tile in front of her server. "Are you interested in a game before I leave? Same bet as always."

"No, thank you," Bo shook his hands rapidly. "I think I've paid enough of your tea visits to know that it's a bad idea."

"Surprising," Seigi slipped the tile back into her pocket. "Never thought you'd pass up on a game with me."

"Please," Bo waved her off. "What's more surprising is finding someone like you in this town to begin with. I thought your kind would steer clear of these parts of the Earth Kingdom until the war was over."

"I was on special business concerning the council," Seigi leaned back into her chair, taking another sip. "Otherwise, most of us, including myself, are taking the southern route bordering on Omashu."

"Well, to be fair," Bo poured himself a cup. "It's not like Chin's men are looking for Airbenders to skewer, and I hear the bandits down south are just as numerous as they are here. Why make the trouble turning south around the desert if you can reach Ba Sing Se directly across the lake?"

"It's not Chin we're worried about," Seigi replied. "It's the Wu Jian. They're held on a very loose leash, and they're all too often used at the slightest nuisance."

"So don't get on anyone's nerves," Bo shrugged. "Doesn't sound like it'd be hard for your people."

"You never know," she sighed. Behind Bo, she saw a little boy dressed in a dark apron walking towards the table with two leather bags. "Some of us just like to make trouble for others."

"Well anyways, it's always a pleasure seeing you again, Seigi," Bo handed the bags over, giving it a little shake as he did. "Feel free to come back any time you like. Maybe next time you can visit my grandchild."

"The pleasures all mine," Seigi grinned, dropping three gold pieces on the table. She stood and gave a long deep bow before grabbing her duffel bag. "Give the last one to your daughter for me. An early gift for her baby."

Her staff was leaning behind the open door next to a makeshift coat hanger, with a bamboo hat hanging over the tip of the glider. Seigi's hair was short, and the hat would cover almost all of it. A long time ago, Seigi could have boasted about her beautiful long flowing dark hair. Now, when outside the customs of the temples, her untied hair fell only to the tips of her earlobes, and her bangs dropped just barely above her crescent shaped eyebrows.

The rain was falling harder when Seigi left the shop. The children were running indoors towards their beckoning parents and even food vendors were putting out their warm fires and pots and covering them with canvas. The surrounding inns put up lanterns as the skies darkened, and the bars began opening early to accept workers who were returning from the forest. The cold air that had settled in the valley was being picked up by a strong breeze, blowing fallen leaves and twigs into the village.

The only people outside now were Seigi, and a band of men walking from the south side of the town. Their jade green robes mildly dampened, water dripping from their straw hats, and their numerous weapons clinking against one another. Their leader was riding on an ostrich horse, one that looked like it had the strength of a finely tuned and muscle bound eel hound. A pair of them casually began knocking on the doors of homes and restaurants, flashing a piece of paper in front of the local residents when they passed.

Seigi gave the Wu Jian a nonchalant glance and turned her back on them. She began walking briskly away from them, towards the town gate up ahead, where the road into the mountains was obscured by the dense forest. But just as she was halfway across the village, there was a shout behind her.

"It's him!"

"Han, no that's not him!" came a stern and demanding a voice, which was followed by a blood curdling battle cry and the sound of heavy boots pounding against the mud. The sounds drew closer and closer to her, and Seigi swiveled around and twirled her glider in preparation.

A giant man loomed above her, his eyes wild with the thrill of battle, and a spear gripped in his two bare hands. He thrust it forward, and Seigi barely twirled her staff fast enough to deflect the weapon to the side. The mercenary used the momentum from the block to swing the lance around for a second attack, rolling it around his waist for another slice. Seigi hopped back lightly on her toes to avoid the butt of the spear, a hidden knife stuck on the end. She then leaned back as her opponent thrust the steel point again at her head when the spear had swung around his body twice.

As the spear pierced through the air just inches above Seigi's face, the Wu Jian agent flipped the spear so its sharp edge was pointed at the ground. In mid thrust, he lifted the spear up slightly and smashed it down with the intention of crushing Seigi's skull. Seigi used her wooden glider to block the blow, but its crushing strength sent her body crashing into the mud floor, where she gave an audible gasp. With the spear stuck firmly in the glider's frame, Seigi used her airbending and whirled the glider and the lance out of her opponent's hands.

Seigi kicked up with her leg, and her opponent attempted to block the blow by bringing his two forearms together like a shield. But what the man didn't expect was a powerful gust of air that accelerated the speed of the attack and left cuts all along his arms and hands. The agent was blasted backwards, and Seigi used the time to jump up and regain a fighting stance.

By instincts, Seigi wanted to turn and run, but with a broken glider, she wouldn't have the stamina to outrun anyone for very long, especially the man on his war horse. That split second of hesitation was enough for two of the Wu Jian who had been watching the fight to descend upon her, swords drawn. The man on the ostrich horse and a follower next to him also charged forth, and half of them covered Seigi's retreat while the other stopped next to Seigi's staggering opponent, the blood from his hands dripping onto the muddy pavement.

Seigi scanned her surroundings, counting her foes up to five, including the injured Han. She was confident that even if she was assaulted by each of these warriors at once, she could probably evade them long enough to grab her glider and escape. Most of them looked far too young and inexperienced, like young dogs snapping for a bite at surprisingly coy prey.

But then, she turned her eyes to the man on the ostrich horse, and she could feel her body tense up and freeze.

He was dressed in normal loose green robes, the usual bamboo hat, and a pair of leather pants that padded his thighs from the ostrich horse's rough back. Two swords hung from his waist. He had a very handsome face, with a gash on his left ear. His features were sharp and his beard neatly trimmed; his nose was broad, and his eyelashes so dark but his gaze so soft. But no matter how harmless he looked, Seigi's knees would not stop shaking wildly. There was something about his posture, the calm look in his eyes that told Seigi that if she blinked she would be cut down. She could just feel her chest pounding out, her fingers twitching, her mind screaming out at her.

_Get away from this man_, was all Seigi could think. It was an instinct taught by her late master, and Seigi trusted this instinct with her life.

"Do not be frightened," the man on his war horse said to Seigi. He reached into his drenched robes and pulled out a roll of white cloth. He dropped it on the ground in front of the man he had called Han. "Han, let this be a lesson to you to stop running in by yourself."

"I deeply apologize for my subordinate's uncalled for behavior," said the man with a smile and an unusually low bow that looked incredibly uncomfortable. Seigi didn't say a word. "He must have mistaken you for a man. Oh. I should apologize for that as well, miss."

"Have your men sheath their weapons," Seigi's struggled not stumbling over her words as she spoke. "And I'll consider accepting your apology."

"Very well," the leader waved his hand at the men around him, and each them reluctantly put their weapons aside. Seigi dared not let down her guard. "I am deeply sorry for the confusion again, master airbender. We were merely tracking one of your own that was said to have traveling in these parts. We lost his trail somewhere near the river, but we were just asking if someone had seen him. Have you by any chance coming across him?"

Once again, that sickening feeling entered Seigi as he gazed at her with a beautiful smile. Without any reason to suspect it, Seigi knew that this man could tell if she lied. That the second she tried to deceive him, he would torture her days even after she revealed the truth. Her body gripped with fear, she slowly, with half of her body struggling against her, raised her fingers and pointed at the mountains behind her.

"I saw him in Taku," the words came out of her tasting like poison being sucked from a wound. "That's all I know."

"Thank you," the man bowed again, and then turned to his men. "Let's get a move on. Han, you too. I don't care if you haven't finished bandaging those wounds yet."

The Wu Jian disappeared just as quickly as they came, with their leader charging ahead of them into the forest. The rest followed on foot, with Han casting Seigi a murderous glare as he sprinted past her. Moments later, Seigi dared to take a look back after the Wu Jian, and only saw the silhouettes of their backs as they vanished.

Only then did Seigi allow herself to drop to her knees and plant her hands in the earth. She wanted yell at herself, but all she could manage was a muffled gasp. There were no tears, as if her lingering fears had frozen her them solid behind her eyes. She breathed in staggered inhales and exhales. She felt as if she had stared straight at death, and by some divine intervention she had managed to survive.

No, on second thought, it wasn't intervention at all. It was a moment of weakness, and Seigi's inner fears had triumphed over her strength.

"What should I have done," Seigi shook her head, whispering to herself. "I'm still too weak."

Not too far from her was her damaged glider. Upon seeing it, Seigi finally stood up, walked up to it, and hefted the staff. The spear had already been torn from the glider when Han left to join his comrades. It had scraped off the tip of the staff, revealing the carefully crafted front wings that were now soaked in mud. Seigi moved her hand over the flexible canvas, rubbing the mud off.

_Are you going to fly or not?_

The memories of her first flight were clear in her mind whenever she grasped her glider, but never before was it so vivid that she could almost feel the wind that had she breezed through that day. Under the rain, with her robes, tea bags, and hat all drenched, she clenched that staff so closely to her body like a dying best friend. She took a deep breath and looked towards the northern road.

_If anything goes wrong, I'll save you._

It took a very long time before her resolve overcame her fear.

* * *

><p>Of all the things that Shijin left in Hana's possession, his map was the most invaluable. Hana tried to keep it safe and dry at all times in Shijin's bag. The satchel was damp and its single strap was tearing from old age, but it was the sturdiest one among the others that Hana left behind soon after leaving the forest. The brown chart was soft and thin, and it was worn out at the edges, pieces of paper chipping off like petals. It was pasted onto a thick canvas that served as a covering when it was rolled up. Hana set it at the bottom of her bag, below the Pai Sho tiles and thinning coin purse.<p>

After escaping from the clutches of the Wu Jian, Hana and Kupo had descended the thick forest under the cover of darkness. Their footsteps were masked by brushes of ivy and roots of trees that smothered the dirt. They walked for a very long time in absolute silence, and Hana had a hard time keeping track of her badgermole as he jumped from rock to rock. When Kupo fell asleep in the middle of that night, utterly exhausted, Hana picked him up and kept walking. There were certain moments when Hana would turn her head slightly towards the mountains where she had left Shijin to his fate, but never once did she take a step back.

"Shijin wouldn't want me to," Hana told herself.

When the sun rose, Hana, without meaning to, collapsed under a growing willow tree at the edge of the forest next to a small pond. After waking up halfway into the morning to Kupo licking her face, Hana scrambled up in a panic, keeping her eyes constantly open the rest of the day to avoid sleep. By the afternoon, Hana finally saw a crowded road again, where she was able to blend in with the local farmers after purchasing a straw hat on the street to cover her face. She was lucky that of the two wanted posters, hers was the more inaccurate, but she wore the hat just in case. She walked the road until nightfall, where she looked for the cheapest inn available and, when still unsatisfied with all the prices, begged to sleep in a closet.

There was no time to think about anything, especially things that would get her down and depressed. Hana shoved everything about Shijin to the back of her mind, concentrating on staying wide awake on the road and watching out for any sign of the Wu Jian. Her next priority was finding the stashes of money that Shijin had told her about. After spending so much food in their last village, Shijin and Hana had been running a little low on pieces. While Hana felt confident that she could best a good number of the players she met on the road, she didn't feel safe staying in one place and drawing attention to herself.

However, searching for stowed away savings was harder than Shijin had made it sound. All the villages that Shijin and his mother had hidden money in appeared to be marked by a golden brush with characters that Hana didn't recognize. Without knowing the landmark that Shijin had used to hide the coins, Hana had no way of finding anything, and it'd be dangerous asking people to read her treasure map for her. There was only one village, a fishery at the mouth of a river, that Hana remembered Shijin talking about. The money was hidden in a cemetery, under the gravestone Fang Jin. However, upon finding the tombstone, Hana was dismayed to discover that the money she found underneath the grave was no more than five silver pieces.

"This doesn't look it'll last me a season," Hana grumbled as she stuffed the pieces into Shijin's coin bag. "How cheap were things when Shijin was ten?"

There was talk of snow among the farmers, many of them concerned for their crops. Hana was worried when she looked at her thin and torn outfits. Mornings were getting colder, her breath a puff of white smoke. The sun arose earlier, but its light felt weak and fading compared to the windy currents blowing against the bristling trees. The edge of the rivers had traces of ice floating towards the shore, while ferrymen carrying people across the lake called out "One gold piece per trip!"

It was a full two weeks after she had left Shijin when Hana arrived in the middle of a lonely village on the north eastern shore of the Serpent's Lake. This time, Shijin had marked the map with the drawing of a chrysanthemum, and Hana had looked around the small town until she found a door with that exact same marking sketched on it. The inn belonged to an old couple, who greeted Hana with surprised smiles, and asked her how she had managed to find their humble abode.

"We thought no one knew that we were an inn anymore," the two laughed when Hana showed them her last silver coin. "There are all these new fancier places in other villages now. They even have their own chefs and exquisite cuisines."

"My Pai Sho teacher directed me to this place," Hana bowed, careful not to blurt out Shijin's name too soon. "He has been here before, and recommended it here when we left and went our separate ways."

"Pai Sho teacher?" the husband was wide eyed, but he didn't pursue any further. "Well now that's something. Didn't know anyone remembered this place was a pub too. Anyway, come in, come in! Let me help you get settled in. My wife will help you with those dirty clothes. We have a nice bath, one of the few things we can still compete alongside those other new spas with. Let's get your badgermole washed up too."

That night, as Hana was preparing to sleep, there came a soft knock on her door. It was the innkeeper, and he had brought with him a bowl of steamed rice and vegetables. He also had a small plate of dried fish, which he set on the ground for a certain badgermole to come and nibble on.

"I hope the bath was enjoyable," the old innkeeper bowed, setting the rice on a small stand next to Hana's bed. "You looked hungry, so my wife cooked some food for you. It's not much, but the steamed rice from around here is very good by itself."

"Thank you," Hana folded her legs underneath her and gave the innkeeper a low bow, delicately placing her forehead and finger tips on the floor. When she looked up, she chuckled. "The bath was also very enjoyable. It feels nice to be out of those dirty clothes."

"I'm glad," the innkeeper smiled. "It must have been a rough journey for you. If you want, my wife and I don't have many problems if you want to stay a little longer. The harsh winters in the north are no place for a young girl to be traveling."

"Thank you," Hana repeated. "But I only plan on staying the night. I must leave tomorrow by noon."

"Forgive me for asking," the innkeeper said with his eyes narrowed in concern. "But why are you in such a hurry? Most travelers rarely try to brave the northern winter unless they have a party with them. If it snows when you're on the road, you'll be in a lot of trouble."

"I'm grateful for your concern," Hana replied. "But I don't want to be a burden on you more than I have to, and I want to reach the village at the end of this river and take a boat to Ba Sing Se."

"You're talking about Lao Yu's village then. He's the only one that does trips to Ba Sing Se these days," the innkeeper nodded his head. Hana was surprised he knew. "Well, I can certainly understand if you are busy, but by no means would you be a burden. My wife and I always loved it when travelers came to our inn. We heard a lot of good stories midst the warm hearths and Pai Sho games. This used to be a gathering place for really good Pai Sho players you know! Years ago that is. I'm sure your teacher must have played a few games here."

"I wonder about that," Hana looked up at the ceiling, her thoughts drifting to Shijin before shaking it out of her mind. "He was still very young a few years ago. About my age maybe."

"That doesn't stop someone who loves the game from playing," the old man winked, eyeing the wrapped up Pai Sho board and tiles sitting on a study desk at the far end of the room. "Why don't you and I play a game? If you left your teacher, that must mean he has some serious trust in your abilities."

"We didn't leave in the best of terms," Hana laughed nervously, scratching her head slowly. "We got into a little trouble and we got separated. I'm still a novice, I think. There would be nothing to gain from playing someone like me."

"Is that so?" the innkeeper's eyes grinned. "Well, why don't you pull that board over here. Let's see for ourselves."

It seemed like the old man wasn't leaving without playing a game, so Hana grabbed the board and tiles and set them up on the floor, like Shijin had always done it for them. She handed him his stack of tiles and motioned for him to take the first move. The old man obliged, and started with a wheel tile in the center of the board. Hana responded, as usual, with a Sky Bison on her left corner side.

"Your teacher was an airbender?" the old man deduced. Hana nodded. "That's what makes Pai Sho so fascinating isn't it? Cultures have their own distinct qualities and strategies, but at the end of the day, we're all connected when we play against one another."

"Couldn't someone just copy the strategy?" Hana asked. The old man placed a white lotus on his second turn, a surprisingly early deployment, on the baseline of his board. "I mean, it's not hard to just imitate what someone else is doing."

"True," the innkeeper nodded. Hana dropped a wheel tile on her baseline, halfway between the middle and the corner of the central square. "But people who can imitate deployments of up to ten moves, as well as understanding the nuances and alterations based on your opponent's deployment, are rare to find. Most people would prefer to stick with the original strategies and improvise from there as opposed to trying to imitate ones that they rarely get to see. Your teacher might be an airbender, but most people in the kingdom are rarely blessed with the opportunity to play with one."

The old man placed a badgermole next to his white lotus, and Hana set her white lotus to the left of her wheel. Her opponent proceeded to lay a sky bison diagonally across from hers, and she blocked it with a chrysanthemum. The innkeeper made a counter with an additional wheel tile on the other side of his white lotus tile, but Hana defended swiftly with a badgermole next to her flower.

"How long have you been playing this game?" the innkeeper asked right after Hana laid down the badgermole.

"Half a year," Hana answered. She looked at her setup. There didn't seem to be anything particularly weak about it. "Am I doing something wrong?"

"Only curious," the innkeeper waved a hand in her direction. His next move was the sky bison parallel with Hana's. Hana took her own bison now, and moved it out of her corner of the board and straight up five spaces. "You have…an interesting style. But if you've only been playing for a half a year, that's quite impressive. You play every day?"

"Used to," Hana said. "My teacher and I would have at least six games a day, three in the morning and three at night if we could afford it, and we talked about it all the time."

"Now that sounds like fun," the innkeeper chuckled. His hands hesitated over the pieces, as if a little stuck on what to do next. He finally resolved to settle with a chrysanthemum on the right empty corner of Hana's board. Hana was a little confused about the move, but didn't say anything. "You must miss him."

Hana bit down on her lip, half contemplating her next move. She slid her wheel tile all the way to her opponent's side of the board, where it stood adjacent to the old man's badgermole. Sensing the danger, the innkeeper moved his middle wheel piece to his right so that it covered the other wheel. Then, Hana moved her skybison tile diagonally so that it was right underneath her wheel tile, pinning down the innkeeper's two wheels, badgermole, and white lotus all at once.

"That's a bit troubling isn't it," the old man murmured. He tapped the white lotus tile and flipped it over. He looked back up at a surprised Hana and smiled. "I surrender. Good game."

"You were going easy on me," Hana pouted for the first time in weeks. She had almost forgotten the feeling of getting teased.

"Oh, spirits, no," the old man widened his eyes, showing the heavy wrinkles on his cheeks and forehead. "I've been running this inn for years, and all these years I've come and watched Pai Sho players come and go. I've played many times too, but I have never improved at this game. You can say that I'm a Pai Sho enthusiast. I know plenty of strategies, all their special names and everything, but when it comes down to strategics and winning, that's something I can't do."

"That doesn't seem possible," Hana mumbled in disbelief. "If you play long enough, you're bound to start getting better. Even I can get better at this."

"Some people just might not have that talent to improve, I'm just one of those people. And when you get old, you tend to improve even less," the old man stood up, stretching his back straight. "But I now see why Shijin took an interest in you, young lady. Unlike others you have a lot of talent for this game. You pick it up very quickly, and you take it as your own too."

"How did you know Shijin was my teacher?" Hana almost hopped back in fright at the name, and it was only the soft mattress behind her that kept her from falling on her head.

"Has anyone told you that when you play Pai Sho with a person, you can tell things about them just by playing with them?" the innkeeper asked. When Hana nodded, he continued. "I've played with a lot of people in my years, and I've come to understand their quirks and styles quite well. There are only a few people who I have difficulty recognizing, but they're so old and far from memory anyway."

"You played Pai Sho to figure that out?" Hana raised an eyebrow. "You could've just asked."

"Where's the fun in that?" the innkeeper laughed, his white beard bouncing up and down. "It's interesting though. Your strategy and play isn't like him precisely, but there's definitely his influence all over you. You rarely hesitate, and you favor having variety in your pieces rather than focusing on moving around just one or two key tiles."

"I'm sure there are a lot of people who can act and think the same way," Hana said.

"Quite right," the innkeeper nodded. "But how many of them are airbenders, who favor their sky bison? And among them, how many do I know would be traveling around the Earth Kingdom at this time enough to bother playing with Earth Kingdom folk like Shijin and his mother? And most importantly, how many airbenders would teach their students to play the badgermole tile, of all pieces?"

"What's so special about that?" Hana asked.

"Airbenders are not quite fond of them, both in nature and in the game," the innkeeper explained. "But to Shijin, someone who just took the Earth Kingdom as if he was born here himself. I recall when he was younger than you when I met him for the first time. He told me the badgermole was his favorite tile."

Kupo burped. Hana turned to her badgermole and stifled a sudden laugh. She reached for him and pulled him into her lap, stroking his soft fur. The beginning of their journey came into her mind, and Hana thought about how Shijin had told her to senselessly look for a badgermole in the mountains. It was the first time she had a chance to do something she wanted, and Shijin had given her that chance.

All of her emotions swept into her at that point. The emotions of leaving Shijin behind for a band of ruthless killers to rip him apart. The emotions of sleeping in a stuff confined room filled with cleaning tools, with no one to cover up her feet when she kicked off her blankets at night. The emotion of the nights spent around poorly fed camp fires, staring at a Pai Sho board with no opponent on the other side.

She brought her knees to her chest and planted her face between them. She sniffed repeatedly, but the tears came soon enough. The innkeeper's face was stoic and calm, and for the next few minutes, he let Hana cry until she looked up with dry red eyes. He gave a reassuring smile, the only thing an old man could do, and stood up to leave.

"If you want, you can stay here a little bit longer," the old man repeated. "I don't know what may have befallen Shijin, but if you still need time to recuperate, my wife and I will gladly help any friend of that man."

Hana looked up at the old man with gratitude. It was an appealing offer, one that came with food, proper bedding, and clean clothes. But the more Hana thought about it, the more she realized that lingering here too long would only make it harder for her to leave. At that rate, she might never reach Ba Sing Se, where Shijin had said a tournament would run in the spring.

_If you sign me up for a tournament, I want to win it._

She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and then bowed once more. When she looked up, the solemn look in her eyes had vanished. She would not give up now, not when Shijin had gave her another chance at life. She wouldn't allow herself to waver.

_Shijin wouldn't want me to, Hana affirmed._

"Thank you," Hana smiled, shaking her head.

"But I must leave by tomorrow morning."

_To be continued…_


	13. Lesson Thirteen

**Lesson Thirteen: The Water Tribe and Their Fake Tiles, Part One**

* * *

><p>The next morning, Hana bade the old couple farewell, but not before they handed her a few things. Her old clothes had been far too dirty for the old wife to accept as travel clothing, so the old woman fashioned a dusty old kimono she said had belonged to her granddaughter. It was light green with a few white and pink flowers on the sleeves. She also wanted to hand Hana a golden brown hairpin to push the hair out of her eyes, but Hana refused. Both of them nodded in understanding.<p>

Near Omashu, animosity towards the Fire Nation was rare. As Shijin had always said, the Fire Nation was like a passive observer who kept up their trade with both the local merchants in the south and those in Chin's kingdoms. To many who saw the war as nothing that concerns their harvests, this did little nothing to affect them. If anything, most were happy with the many new iron tools that the flame islands brought to the coasts of the Earth Kingdom.

But as trails headed northward, and trade lessened as one crossed into the interior of the kingdom, there were many who felt that the Fire Nation was only assisting Chin, that it was only a matter of time before the Conqueror captured the remainder of the south and declared trade with the Fire Nation exclusively his own. Hana had been slightly aware of some of these facts. After all, many of her guests in Omashu loved to talk about goods that they were shipping to and from the Fire Nation. But never did she imagine she would have to hide her golden eyes to avoid trouble.

Especially now that Shijin wasn't here.

"You be careful on the road," the husband said, handing her a wrapped box. It held a few loaves of bread, some rice balls wrapped in seaweed straight from the river, and some local fish. According to the innkeeper, these fish had a heavier taste that made one full much faster, and so they lasted longer. "Up north, this river is patrolled by Chin's soldiers. Be sure not to stir up anything."

"Don't worry," Hana smiled. "I'll be okay now. Thank you for all that you have done for me."

Her goodbye was quick and succinct, making sure her tone didn't hint at her desire to linger. She gave them no opportunity to offer another night and turned on her heels to leave, Kupo waddling behind her. It was something she had seen and learned from Shijin, who could depart from his friends so easily with just a smile, wave, and "I'll see you when I see you."

The road to Lao Yu's village, like many, was a long journey, up the longest river stretching from the Serpent's Lake. The village was marked at the point where two small tributaries forked out of the river. Unlike other parts of the Serpent's Lake, however, the river was not too crowded with farmers. Fishermen were scarce, and a lot of the space off the road had been dedicated to some grazing land for animals. There were many rest stops on the road however, where travelers gathered and dug into hotly served meals around warm campfires.

And like the old innkeeper had said, there were many of Chin's soldiers who came walking from the north. Hana heard rumors that they were new recruits that Chin was streaming down south. They were strong looking men. Their muscles were showing through their long sleeves. Hana noticed that many were taller than the average man in Omashu too. Many of them wore leather chest pads, and their higher ranking officers wore iron armor around their bodies. They also wore different shaped hats too, some of them conical while others looked like an upside cup. The flag of Chin unified all of them, a simple green circle with a brown square imposed in the middle, could be seen waving for miles and miles around.

Hana would admit that she indeed seem out of place as one of the few travelers to be walking on the opposite lane of Chin's troops. The soldiers didn't seem to give her, or anyone else for that matter, too much attention. Nonetheless, their presence was at the very least intimidating. Hana tried to keep her anxiety out by reciting Pai Sho tiles over and over again.

The good news was the road ran parallel to a nice stream of fresh water, which meant she no longer needed to ration her water skin when she was travelling next to the salty Serpent's Lake. It'd be easier for her to collect water to wash herself and her clothes, not to mention the air wouldn't leave her nose feeling a little pinched. More often than not, she spent a good time walking along the river instead of the road, which at times was a good quarter mile apart.

On the other hand, she had a whole mess of other problems to deal with. First and foremost was the cold. Just a day into her journey, snowflakes drifted down from the sky, and the sun was blocked by a sheet of mist. They fell sporadically, and while Hana's eyes glistened at her first sight of snow, she knew that she had to find some good shelter or risk freezing her toes off.

And that's where the second problem came in. She had used her last coins at the last inn, and now two lonely copper coins jingled in her bag. Hardly enough to pay for an inn, let alone a bowl of steamed rice. For a while, Hana considered sleeping in storage closets again, but many of them were small storage compartments parked outside the inns, and she feared waking up one day completely blocked in by snow.

She also considered having Kupo build her a tent made of earth, something he had been doing for himself as the weather got colder. Shijin had told her that badgermoles were imitative creatures, ones that had to learn from sensing the things around them and copying from the forms of their parents. So Hana tried teaching the badgermole how to make a large tent for her, but when all she could do was scrape together a less than average sized mound that not even Kupo could fit in, she gave up.

Her temporary solution then was huddling at the rest stops with many of the other men and women that were traveling along with her. Some of them were husbands and wives seeking a new life somewhere up north. Some were just lone wolves who were headed for the mountains in search for an adventure. And there were many who were quiet for the most part, their faces enigmatic. Hana herself probably belonged in that group. After all, she kept to herself, and she seemed to be the only woman in the group traveling alone.

Occasionally, the travelers would play Pai Sho as a way of passing the time, and even the quiet ones would jump at the opportunity to chat and play. Hana would observe these games, comment on them in her head, but do nothing more. They played casually, with no bets involved, and according to what Hana saw, they weren't very good either. A lot of their moves reminded her of herself before she put more thought into the game. In just a few days with traveling behind them, Hana had memorized each of their styles, and was confident in beating all of them, except for one of the travelers who, like Hana, only watched the games.

He was one of the silent folk, an aged man with an austere look on his face, almost to the point where one might think he was holding back some kind of pain. His hair was graying, but he was often with the younger travelers helping them collect wood with a short ax that was strapped to his waist. At night, he would always eat small meals made up of a small ball of salted rice with a cup of hot tea. When he was finished, he would climb the nearest tree and watch the travelers with an unreadable expression for the rest of the night. Some of the travelers were wary of the man, and sometimes they would call him to come down and not stare at them. Hana didn't mind. If anything, she remembered how Shijin used to climb trees and watch over her at night, his keen eyes on the horizon for any sign of the Wu Jian.

One night, Hana saw that the traveler was drinking his usual cup of hot tea, but his usual ball of salted rice was nowhere to be seen. It occurred to Hana that maybe he had run out of the ones in his bag, or maybe he had no more money to spend. Hana checked over her own rations. She still seemed to have plenty of rice and bread left. She had saved all of her fish for Kupo, who luckily only ate a third of one a day. Traveling with Shijin had trained her in saving her food. Being satisfied with just half a bowl of rice. Spreading out a meal over the course of the day rather than gobbling it up all at once.

She approached him with half a ball of rice, and, as he peered up to look at her, offered it to him. Hana couldn't tell what kind of expression was on her face, but she tried to smile despite his stoic and intimidating gaze. After a moment, the man accepted the meal and slowly chewed on the seaweed wrapping the rice together. Hana sat down next to him, and ate the other half of the rice ball in silence. Once, the man offered her the tea he had been drinking, but despite her curiosity to find out what kind of brew had caused the man drink it every day, Hana respectfully declined.

"Thank you," he said finally. They were the first words Hana had heard, and from the way his voice scratched against his throat, they must have the first words he had said in a while. "This was one of the best rice balls I've ever had."

"Ahh, I didn't make these," Hana pointed at her meal and showed a wide grin, trying to keep her attention away from the few travelers who were shocked to see the two of them interacting. "A kind innkeeper made them for me when I left their home."

"Well, whoever made them," despite his grateful tone, the man's face remained expressionless. "Thank you for offering them to me. I was afraid I'd have to travel the rest of the way without another meal. With this last one, I can feel assured that I can make it without starving."

"If you need more, I have plenty more that I've still managed to save up," Hana noted, holding up her food bag as proof. "And besides, I'm almost at the village I'm headed to, so I have no problem giving you the remains of the food to help you on the rest of your journey."

"Actually," the man's eyes widened. Just a little bit. "I'm almost there too. I'm looking for passage to Ba Sing Se, and I heard there was a ferryman who could navigate the river and take me straight to the main road instead of walking around the whole length of the Serpent's Lake."

"You're searching for a ferryman to take you to Ba Sing Se?" Hana asked. "I am too. We might be looking for the same one. Maybe we can go together? It's better than sitting here all alone by ourselves, at least."

"Perhaps," he said. "But-"

"Great," Hana beamed. "My name is Hana, and your name is?"

"It's…Li," was his reply.

That night was the first time Li didn't go up a tree straight after dinner, and the following morning was the first time he didn't walk alone behind the rest of the travelers. Beside him was a young badgermole and Hana, who was all too happy to offer him some bread in the morning.

"You're my travel partner now," Hana exclaimed. "That means part of my food is also your food. Don't hesitate to ask for some. If we run out, well, I'll find some way to get some more."

"You are very nice to people that you've suddenly met," Li observed. There was some concern in his tone. "I'm not sure what to think of that, but I'd think that it'd be dangerous to suddenly decide you want to travel aside any complete stranger. Especially if you're a woman."

"Are you a dangerous person?" Hana took a bite out of her bread.

"I used to be a soldier," Li said. "I killed many people."

"But you've stopped doing that right?" Hana didn't act even minutely surprised, as if she had seen men much worse than he. When Li nodded, she said. "Then there's no problem with traveling with you, right?"

"You're very trusting of people that you've suddenly met," Li said. "Especially what they say. I could be lying."

"I've met some very nice people in this country," Hana shrugged. "Maybe I'm too easy to see the good things in people, but from what little experience I have, I think a fellow traveler who thanks another person for a small ball of rice and offers her a cup of tea in response is someone worth knowing."

Li nodded. He had forgotten about that. He made a mental note to himself that the girl was a rather perceptive one.

The band continued north, huddling closer and closer as the winds and snow grew in intensity. At one point, someone asked if there was a firebender around. Surprisingly, no one hit him for that remark, but that did cause someone to light a quick torch and pass it around to everyone, giving everyone his or her fair share of warmth.

People came and left their circle of travelers every day. Some of them found the villages that they wanted to take a longer stop at, while others joined them to start their own adventures. Hana didn't pay much attention to them unless they played Pai Sho, but their games soon disinterested her as she focused on mentally reconstructing past games in her head. It had been a skill that Shijin had often cited as one of the most helpful tools of self-learning, and Hana found that at the very least, just thinking about the game gave her a lot of food for thought.

A lot of her games with Shijin were fuzzy now, though, and after a while Hana realized that it had been three weeks since her last game with him. It had been a long time, so once Hana was done reflecting on all the games that she remembered, she started building up new strategies and ideas in her head. Most of them were very uninspiring though, but to Hana, that was the point. Better to figure out which strategies she thought up were weak before actually using them in a real game.

"So you do play Pai Sho," Li noted once when Hana was reciting a game out loud. It was nightfall, and the travelers had all decided to camp out a half day's walk away from Lao Yu's village. "I had wondered what kind of person would be watching their games with such intensity. You play a lot?"

"It's been a while since my last game, but yes," Hana nodded. "I'm planning on playing in some tournaments when I get to Ba Sing Se, though, so I need to get myself ready for them."

"Well," Li's voice gave away just a tiny hint of surprise. "That's not something you hear every day, a girl trying to get into competitive Pai Sho rings."

They reached the fisherman's village the next day at noon. There was a short bridge that led to the other side of the river where the village lied. It was actually quite a large village. There was a bustling town square with many merchants and fisherman. Many of them were dressed in blue garbs, and the food and goods that were being sold in the market place were ones that Hana hadn't seen before. She waved farewells to the group of travelers, though only a few recognized her and waved back. In no mood to wait, Hana asked the closest villager about Lao Yu.

"Lao Yu?" said one of the villagers. "He actually lives a little more northward, outside the village. He's a nice enough fellow. Brings in a nice haul for the children every winter when we can't find anything."

The house the villager spoke of was a rather old wooden house that had seen a lot of patchwork. Hay and wooden planks of different shades of brown covered the roof. There was no front porch or garden, just a lot of dirt. There were two boats tied onto stakes on the shore of the river. There was a wooden gondola with a massive oar stored inside, and there was a sampan with a mast rolled up along the pole stretching from the middle of the vessel.

"Doesn't seem the most inviting of homes," Li noted.

"My Pai Sho teacher told me I could trust him," Hana said, walking towards the door. She knocked twice. "I'm sure he's a nice old man."

But the man who opened the door didn't look like an old man at all. At most, he looked like a man in his early to mid-forties. He was a tall and lean, like most Water Tribesman, but his arms looked very strong, most likely from years of rowing and fishing. His brown hair was messy, but he did have a cleanly shaved beard while leaving some of his sideburns intact. He had a very soft expression, a simple smile, gentle eyes, with just a few wrinkles around his cheekbones.

"Oh," he said. "Who do we have here? You two lost, or are you newcomers in the village sent to introduce yourselves to me?"

"Um," Hana replied, a little confused. "I'm looking for Lao Yu?"

"That's me," he grinned. He stared at Hana's gaping mouth and laughed. "What, did you think I was going to be an old man or something? Spewing off wisdom like a village elder? I'm telling you, no one can hear the stories about me in the village without thinking I'm some kind of ancient sage. And you two are?"

"I'm Hana," Hana replied and gestured to Li. "And this is Li."

"Pleased to meet you, Hana," Lao turned his attention to Li. His eyes narrowed for a moment in inspection, but he bowed shortly after. "And you. Li. What can I do for you two today?"

"We're looking for safe passage to Ba Sing Se," Hana said. "We heard that you're the only one that does it these days, and we'd really like to get to the city as quickly as possible."

"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind doing that," Lao frowned. "But considering I do have my obligations to the village, I can only do it provided you have the coin. It is five silver pieces per person, which I think is a reasonable price since most trips would cost you a gold one. I'm judging from the look on your face that you don't have that kind of money."

"No," Hana shook her head. "But a good friend of mine said that you can find your payment in the castle in your fish tank. I think that should be enough to afford a crossing."

"A good fri-," Lao's eyes widened. He nodded. His face suddenly grew solemn. "Ah, come in, come in."

Unlike the outside, Lao's home interior was tidy and organized. There was a fire at the end of the room, burning inside a warm hearth. There was a boiling pot on top of it, and his bed was parked in the corner just besides the fire. As usual, Kupo ran to this heat source and lied down next to it. He fell asleep, exhausted from the long day's walking. A round table was nailed down in the middle of the room, but there were only seats for two. There was a staircase that opposite of Lao's bed.

The fish tank that Shijin must have referring to was on top of a set of drawers with clothes loosely falling out. The tank was empty, and the little castle inside, which was just a replica of a small Earth Kingdom fortress, had gathered a lot of dust. After shutting the door for them, Lao returned to the tank, and lifted the replica out to inspect it.

"That sly bastard," Lao pursed his lips, glancing up at Hana and Li. He held something tightly in his hands, and Hana could only make out a few beads dangling from the edge of his fingers. "How do you know about Shijin? What has he told you about me?"

"Shijin is my Pai Sho teacher," Hana answered. "He advised that if we were to ever get separated, that I should come to you and ask you for help to get to Ba Sing Se. He said you were a good man."

"Oh, is that so?" Lao smirked. "So, how's our good old friend Shijin doing right now?"

"I don't know. We were separated," Hana shook her head. Lao's tone had turned suddenly cold, and he said Shijin's name with sneer that Hana was uncomfortable with. "But is everything okay? Is what he left behind enough?"

"Well it's certainly not payment, if that's what you're asking," Lao flashed what he had taken out of the fish tank. Dangling from a roll of beads were two Pai Sho tiles. One was a sky bison tile, while the other had a sketch of a boat on its surface. It was a tile Hana had never seen before. "There's one other way I accept payments to ferry people down the river, and that's beating me in a game of Pai Sho. Shijin must be feeling real pleased with himself pitting a little girl against me."

In the corner of her eyes, Hana could see Li raise an eyebrow, his look dubious as he stared at the beads. They didn't particularly look like a symbol of challenge.

"There must be a mistake," Hana said. "Shijin never told me about this. He merely said told me where you could find your payment. I would be more than happy to play you, but I'm still learning and I'm afraid I don't have much time. I want to get to Ba Sing Se before winter is over."

"Always in a rush he was," Lao murmured, stifling a short bitter laugh as he spoke. "Looks like you've taken after him in that regard. He never was patient like the rest of his people, always quick to leave and quick to make rash decisions, no matter who he would be affecting in the long run. And now you come asking for favors, not knowing what trouble he put us through."

"It seems you and Shijin have a misunderstanding. What happened?" Hana asked. Her irritation at Lao's allegations was rising fast. "I refuse to believe that Shijin would be one to treat his friends poorly."

"Friends?" Lao mocked. "Shijin and I are not friends. Little girl, I don't know what he may have told you, but that poor excuse for a man is nothing but a selfish, arrogant fool, who tosses away anybody remotely close to him when it's in his favor. Anyone who thinks of him as a friend is either irreversibly stupid or unaware of ho-"

Before Lao could finish, Hana had crossed the distance between him and her and slapped the man straight across the cheek. Lao's eyes went wide almost like a fish, and he instinctively raised his hand to rub the red mark on his left cheek. He snapped his attention back to Hana, who seemed surprised at herself for what she had done. Nevertheless, she glared at him with a furious intensity. There was anger, but there was no fury. In those few moments, Lao could not see the little girl that he had just been calling her.

"You will _not _insult my teacher again like that," Hana declared. "Shijin spoke very highly of you before we departed. You will give him the same respect that you have shown two strangers."

"Is this the type of student that Shijin raises?" Lao's voice was dripped with attempted sarcasm. "Beca-"

"Don't even think about it," Hana raised her hand again, but instead of dealing another swift blow, she reached her hand into her robes and revealed out a sack of wooden Pai Sho tiles. "If you're so intent on attacking Shijin when he isn't even here to defend himself, then at least prove you're better by beating his student."

"You really think Pai Sho will solve all your problems?" Lao cackled. "Hopelessly idealistic, like him. What's to say that I won't even ferry you for your shameful act just now."

"Do what you want," Hana replied. "But I will not have my teacher's good name tarnished by people who rattle off their mouths without proving themselves with their actions. Those are the type of people I can't stand the most."

"That necklace," Li finally spoke up. He was standing in the corner of the room, arms folded, and his gaze having never left the two Pai Sho tiles strung together. "That's quite a unique betrothal necklace."

"W-what are you talking about?" Lao said, a bit startled at the sudden comment.

"There's no point in lying to me," Li shrugged. "I'm a mercenary from the Northern Water Tribe, after all. Why did you lie about that necklace? It's clearly a valuable payment, if this Shijin person is giving it to you under the right circumstances."

"What's all this noise about?" came a voice from the top of the staircase.

An old man descended from the top of the stairs. He wore a straw hat that Hana had seen many of the fishermen wear during their outings. He had white hair, and he balanced himself on a short cane. He eyed the visitors with interest and then he turned to Lao Yu and breathed a deep sigh.

"Are you making trouble for the villagers again Shou?" the old man scolded.

"No," was the reply from the man Hana thought was named "Lao". His confident stature seemed to suddenly diminish a little in the presence of the old man. "These two are new. They're not from around here."

"Pleased to meet you two then," said the old man. He smiled as he came to Hana and reached out his hand. "My name is Lao Yu. And you two are?"

* * *

><p>Shijin had to admit, that compared to three well-built men surrounding him, he looked like a lanky young adult.<p>

It was mere moments after Hana had escaped into the forests. It was a maze that, come nightfall, would be foolish for anyone to tread. Shijin allowed himself a momentary feeling of victory before turning back to the issue at hand. His left side was still burning, blood soaking up the bandages quickly and threatening to spill over the tightly wrapped cloth. His glider was far away from his reach, and it was now that Shijin wondered if it had been smart to stop paying attention to airbending basics after he had been exiled.

Shijin gauged his chances. There were three men surrounding him. One was a man with a pair of metal gloves, and he looked the oldest out of the bunch, including their leader in the back. The gloves didn't look like they'd be useful with earthbending, but just from the spikes attached to them, they would most definitely hurt. There was also a man with a mace. Another weapon that would hurt a lot and this warrior had a lot of scars to prove his experience with it. The third was the archer that Shijin had knocked over with his glider. His ribs were broken, but from the way he twirled a pair of knives in his hand, it didn't look like he was feeling it.

In short, Shijin wasn't feeling too lucky.

He was feeling a bit of irony though. He had always thought that when his time to die had finally come, that was when he'd look back on all the things he did during his short or, as he had hoped, long life. He would look back, smile on the few true friends he had made, but he would also have piles of regrets to deal with, most of them regrets that he still kept to himself without telling anyone.

So it was strange that in these final moments, Shijin was feeling little to none of these regrets come back to him. Instead, he allowed his mind to wander a little bit, and explore the possibility of him and Hana making it all the way to Ba Sing Se. They would ride the ferry with good old man Lao Yu, stop by a few nice places to eat, enter through the daunting walls, and take a train to the Middle Ring. He would provide for them through Pai Sho games, and once he had made enough, he would pay the entrance fee to get her into a tournament.

She would lose of course, but that wasn't really the point.

"After this entire time," Shijin said to himself. "The only noteworthy thing I've ever done is create a half-baked Pai Sho player."

If the Wu Jian hadn't charged in right as Shijin had said that, maybe that would have been the time that Shijin began thinking of his regrets. But there was no time now. The man with the bronze knuckles moved in first. He came in from Shijin's right and tried to slug Shijin with his forearm. The airbender managed to sidestep the attack, but not before the thorns on the gloves cut across his left sleeves and braze his upper arm. Feeling the pain in his side immediately spike, Shijin tried to place some distance now that he had dodged the initial blow.

But the Wu Jian gave him no such respite. The Wu Jian armed with knives threw them as Shijin tried to back off. Luckily, a quick flick of wrist and a surge of wind changed the course of the knives. The third Wu Jian with the mace charged in with a series of twirls and spins. Shijin ducked and weaved around the blows, but the speed of his opponent was too fast, and Shijin had to resort to using his arms to block the near bone crushing blows.

In just under a minute, Shijin's arms were red and sore from consecutive blows. There was an airbending skill that allowed one to bend air around their hands and arms to soften these kinds of blows, but Shijin was way out of practice, not to mention he didn't have the skill and finesse to bend air at such qualities.

_If only I paid more attention to mother_, Shijin thought.

The Wu Jian were biding their time, patient and in control. They seemed to have forgotten about Hana and now focused all their attention on Shijin. Shijin couldn't be disappointed with that, but that just meant this was going to be a slow hunt. All of the fighters looked eager for blood, but by some sense of self control managed to hold themselves back, careful not to overextend and allow the airbender to exploit a hole in their formation. They kept a constant circle around him, even as he tried to maneuver outside of it.

Each of them took their turns striking at Shijin. A cut cheek there. Another bruise there. Shijin had seen this pattern before and finally began to feel why countless victims felt demoralized as the Wu Jian methodically cut down their opponents until there was no strength left in them. Shijin, almost frantically now, began thinking of ways to escape while managing to dodge attacks without sustaining the heaviest of injuries. But he was tiring, and any attempts at escape were halted by the Wu Jian's superior and agility.

_What a shame, to lose to non-Airbenders in a battle of speed_, Shijin thought.

It was the archer's turn to take a swipe at Shijin. He had an extra pair of knives that he had been using to pick at Shijin's legs. He darted in. Shijin hopped back to avoid the first slash at his legs, but the archer threw the second knife unexpectedly and without time to react, that knife cut through the right side of his robes and opened a fresh deep cut there. Shijin instinctively reached for the wound, but had to force his arms back up as the archer hopped back and exchanged places with the man with the mace.

Then, a pocket of compressed air, more powerful than anything Shijin could ever possibly hope to create, blasted the warrior off his feet. A second gust threw him into a nearby tree and before Shijin could blink, a figure rushed past him and slammed into the shocked Wu Jian warrior with a force that almost ripped the tree in two. The two others quickly turned their head at the intruder. She was wearing a cracked staff on her back, her robes covered in mud stains, and her face expressionless at the dead soldier whose face was smashed beneath her palm.

"You will not lay another hand on him," she said. And without another word, she charged the remaining Wu Jian.

_Seigi?_

The archer with the knives was the next to go down. In the blink of an eye, Seigi had covered the short distance between the dead Wu Jian and her new target. The archer, with a battle crazed look on his face, threw up his knives to block the incoming blow, only to feel his arms break away like wooden planks as she thrust her right arm forward. Her hand struck his face, and, in a single motion, slammed the back of his head into the dirt.

The Wu Jian with the bronze gloves charged in the moment Seigi was finished with the archer. He thought that the airbender, who needed time to recover her stance after using such a flashy move, wouldn't be able to react to a swift punch. Before he could launch his arms forward, though, the airbender had already darted away and was charging back in for a second strike. The mercenary launched a series of boulders to slow down the airbender's movements. Undeterred, Seigi just smacked away each of them, swatting them away like flies.

Seigi's opponent, with a look that Shijin could only described as mildly concerned, pounded the floor to send a shockwave through the ground that rumbled and sent shards of spikes flying out haphazardly in front of him. But Seigi was too fast, and nothing came close to touching her. Within another few seconds, she was right next to him, and with her hands closed as fists, she delivered a barrage of blows from his waist to his neck before he could block them. The last punch knocked him high into the air, but by then, the man had already died from his chest caving in on his lungs.

When the body landed on the soft dirt, Seigi turned over to Shijin, who was barely standing.

"You're slow," Seigi admonishment differed from her softening features. She looked back to the leader of the band of Wu Jian, who was hopping off his horse. "But I'm glad you're alright."

"How did you find me?" Shijin asked.

"I followed them," Seigi's eyes were not leaving the leader. He slapped the ostrich horse calmly and ordered it to leave. He strolled slowly towards the two airbenders. "Shijin, we need to be prepared to run."

"I'm with you," Shijin nodded. "Let's get ready to-"

"I don't mean to interrupt your reunion," said the leader, his smile relaxed, despite all his comrades lying dead around him. He nudged his foot against the nearest one, the archer with a cracked skull. "But it appears I was right to think that I should have killed you back in that village."

"I'm so sorry that you missed your chance," Shijin couldn't see what Seigi looked like when she was replying, but there was a trace of fear in her voice. A slight stutter, a hesitant, almost reluctant, reply, as if she didn't even want to hear the man's voice.

"No need," the leader chuckled. He drew his two swords. They were both long and thin. "Because I'm going to kill both of you. Right now."

"Shijin," Seigi hissed, her voice low. "I'll hold him off. You make a break for it."

"You've never used the phrase 'hold him off' when describing someone you're about to fight," Shijin said. "What's up with this guy?"

"I don't know," Seigi replied. "But I don't think I can beat him."

"That was something I never thought I'd hear you say," Shijin said. "Then let's take him together."

"I'd rather not have to worry about defending two people at once," Seigi unfastened her staff from her back and tossed the useless additional weight aside. "I'll be right behind you. I just need you to be clear of him in case he tries anything. Besides, you have your student to take care of, yes?"

"I'm making a detour to the Northern Air Temple," Shijin said. "Whether you like it or not."

"Then you better get moving, then," Seigi said. "Don't even think of staying for me."

And, once again without another word, Seigi charged full speed towards the leader of the Wu Jian, who merely smiled and welcomed her with the tip of his blades.

_To be continued..._


	14. Lesson Fourteen

**Lesson Fourteen: The Water Tribe and Their Fake Tiles, Part Two**

* * *

><p>There were two children in the corner of the room. The first was a young boy that was sitting down, knees touching his chest, his hands braced against his ears. He was shaking everywhere uncontrollably, murmuring something inaudibly as his eyes were fixed on something in front of him. The second was a girl standing in front of the boy, arms stretched out wide, with her staff in one hand.<p>

In front of the two of them were five tall soldiers, dressed in dark green robes. There were dark grins on their faces as they slowly approached the two children, swords drawn. Each of their weapons was dripping with blood, and the red drops formed a trail from one end of the room to the next. There were three smaller silhouettes in the darkest corner of the room.

"Shijin, you need to get up," said the girl, her every word near tripping over the next. "Get up. Please."

"Hey, what are you saying, Miss Airbender?" one of the soldiers sneered. "Can't you see your friend wants to sit right where he is?"

That soldier took a step forward and the girl reacted instinctively. She twirled in a small circle and let loose a blast of air in his direction. The soldier bore the brunt of the attack head on and took another step forward once the breeze had washed over. The girl sidestepped a large swipe of his sword and leaned towards the soldier so that her hands were just below the soldier's gut. She used her forward momentum and slammed her open palms against the man's guts. She could feel the surge of air slamming into his abdomen and the sharp inhale afterwards.

But she had miscalculated the damage she could deal. Within half a second, the soldier had recovered from such a feeble strike. A fist came out of nowhere, and hit the girl square in the face. She went flying back into the wall just next to Shijin. The next moment, a hand slammed against her neck and pinned her against the cement, squeezing tighter and tighter. All the while, the boy named Shijin continued to tremble in the corner.

"Shijin, what are you doing," the girl croaked, swallowing the blood gathering at the back of her throat. The strength of the man's hand on her neck was growing. She was losing consciousness. "Just run for the door. Run. Run."

But Shijin would not run. He was paralyzed, his eyes shifting finally to the girl choking right in front of him. Her eyes were shutting open and close, her hands uselessly firing off spurts of air. A small trail of blood poured from the right corner of her mouth. Shijin couldn't stand the sight. He averted his eyes and started mumbling even louder.

"No, no, no, no, no," Shijin muttered, shaking his head while he spoke.

"Shijin," tears sprang to the girl's eyes. Every word was a struggle as the man in front of him grinned as he loosened and tightened unpredictably to let her fight for every gasp of breath. "You…coward. Liar. If. You. Are. Just. All. Talk. Then. At. Least. Save. Yourself."

At that very moment, the door that was standing behind the five soldiers was blown apart. Through her squinting eyes, the little girl could make out another Airbender standing at the doorway. The Airbender swung her right leg and the man holding onto the girl's neck was thrown aside like a tree branch. He crashed against another wall face first, and everyone in the room heard the crunching noise of his skull slamming against brick. The girl dropped to the floor, clawing at her neck as she gasped for breath. Even in that state she crawled toward the boy next to her.

The soldier who had been tossed aside could still miraculously lift his body off the ground, but his eyes were cold and unseeing. It was mere brutal training that was pushing his body up. The Airbender, with a wave of her arm, smashed him against the wall again. His spine cracked this time, and his body was still. The rest of the soldiers, their grins wiped from their faces, turned to meet the newcomer. However, before either of them made another move, she lifted both of her hands and sent two of the soldiers through the roof, ripping two human sized holes on the ceiling.

Light from outside flooded the room, illuminating the darkest corners. The boy named Shijin glanced up now as the light cast its glow on the three small bodies speared to the dirt ground on the other side of the room. They were all young, none older than Shijin, and every single one of them was wearing the clothes of a young monk.

Shijin fainted, and he forgot all that happened afterwards.

* * *

><p>The whole situation seemed a little bit confusing, so Hana spent the next few moments clarifying the situation.<p>

"Wait a second, wait a second," Hana exclaimed at the old man, pointing at the young alleged Lao Yu. "You're Lao Yu? But I thought this was Lao Yu."

"That's my son. His name is Shou," the old man nodded. "He often goes by Lao Yu as a nickname among those in the village, since he brings so many fish. The other villagers refer to me as Lao Ba, but my real name is Lao Yu. It's very confusing for outside travelers, you see."

"Why didn't you tell me that wasn't your real name?" Hana put a hand to her forehead. "And here I thought Shijin had made a poor choice in friends."

"How was I supposed to know you weren't somebody's relative who had visited from a nearby village?" the man named Shou sighed. The next moment, his expression hardened. "Wait. What was that you said about Shijin picking friends? Did you say _poor choice_?"

"I'm not going to repeat myself," Hana stuck out her tongue, and then put on the most polite face she could muster for the old man. "Lao Yu, my name is Hana. I'm a student of Shijin's and I've come to ask you of a favor. My master and I have been separated and I need passage to Ba Sing Se. I heard there is no faster route than ferry."

"You've heard right, especially in this winter weather," the old man chuckled, a deep sound resonating from his large belly. "Most fisherman give up as the lake almost freezes up entirely, but us Waterbenders can pave a way to Ba Sing Se just fine."

"So you'll take me?" Hana snuck a peak at Shou, who glared at her with annoyance.

"Unfortunately, no," Lao pointed at his back. "I'm a little too old to be rowing a ferry in the middle of cold winter, and my Waterbending is not what it used to be. It'd be troublesome if some of the deep lake critters pop up and think we're a large fish. Shou here, though, is quite the young master of the waters. He'll do, won't he?"

"He would," Hana's smile disappeared. "If he didn't outright refuse to take me and insulted my master at the same time."

"Now that won't do, Shou," said Lao Yu. "How many times have I told you to forget about what happened between you and them? It has been a very long time now. It's unfair for you to keep a grudge for this long, especially to someone who wasn't even involved."

"I don't care," Shou folded his arms, the necklace hanging from beneath his elbows. "You see this necklace? She was told to offer this to me. It's mockery, I tell you. He just wants me to do his bidding and keep my hopes alive or something."

"Kawa is gone, you know that already Shou. There are no hopes to keep alive for what might have been," Lao Yu sighed, shaking his head. "It is as the northern Water Tribesman said a moment ago. That necklace has value beyond what you intended to use it for. It means Shijin is willing to rely on you."

"When he's completely out of other options, you mean?" Shou spat.

Hana drew the connection almost immediately.

"Kawa?" Hana asked. "Is that Shijin's mother's name? And that's a betrothal necklace right? Then, Shou, you…"

Hana's eyes lightened up, and she instantly burst into wild laughter. She clutched her sides, unable to control herself, her cries reaching the ceiling upstairs. She wiped the tears of mirth with her dirty sleeve. It took almost a full minute for her to calm down, and by then Shou was looking at her with a mix of bewilderment and partial embarrassment.

"You don't look that old. Older than Shijin, but that doesn't say much," Hana finally stopped laughing and looked the man up and down. Shou flushed red. "How old was Shijin's mother at that age?"

"Young enough to still look gorgeous," Lao Yu pointed out. He seemed to type to jump at any opportunity to tell silly stories about his son. "Young Shou here took to her almost immediately, but it wasn't until the fifth time that she came that he offered her a betrothal necklace without having exchanged so much a single word. It was a tough time for Shou, as you might have guessed."

"Father!" Shou whined, feeling the control of the conversation slipping away from him with each passing moment. He wanted to push the man upstairs and away from sight. "Well, now you know. This is the necklace I made for her. When I offered this to her, and when I insisted no matter how much she denied me, she took it from me. She told me then, however, that she would place it somewhere in our place, and that when she really needed me, she would offer me the necklace and give me another chance to ask."

"And now," Shou continued. "Shijin has asked me for a favor with it, which means she told him where to hide it, and how to ask me for a favor, even after she was gone from this world. Do you think I should take a favor like that seriously, when it was intended only to be a favor out of love, of a promise of marriage? Do you think this is fair to me, Father, to ferry a girl and a man that I have never seen before, with a payment that only brings me shame?"

"I can make money as a side payment," Hana offered. "I'm a good enough Pai Sho player to make some at least. My master didn't leave me helpless."

"And have you blabber on about how the mean man at Lao Yu's house woudn't give you a ride even when you had offered a beautiful necklace as payment? No thank you," Shou scoffed. "And I don't trust your Pai Sho skills enough to let you loose on the streets for you to lose whatever is left of your moment, if you even have any at all."

"Why you," Hana stepped forward, as if to slap Shou again.

"Now, now, now," Lao Yu butted in. He faced Hana. "Now, miss. I understand where you are coming from. Shijin, his mother, and I go a long ways back, and I would be more than delighted to help you. However, I passed on my ferry business to my son many years ago. And while I may not be the most supporting of some of his decisions, it is up to him to run his business as he sees fit. And you, Shou, don't think you're not to blame. I would rather you help this nice young lady and her friend rather than wallow in your own self-pity all the time."

"If I can run this business, then I have the right to refuse service to anyone," Shou pouted.

"Like I said, _poor choice_," Hana smirked. "Fine. Are there any other ferrying services that run along the river?"

"Not during this season there aren't," it was Shou's turn to grin as he watched Hana's expression sour. "If you want to ride a ferry, the only path is through me, and frankly I'm not in the biggest mood to accept you, even if you have the pieces."

"So be it then," Hana held up her pouch of Pai Sho tiles. "Is your offer to play Pai Sho for a ride still available?"

"What?" Shou scoffed.

"You heard me," Hana shook the tiles in front of Shou. "If you're so unafraid of my Pai Sho skills, then you won't mind if I play you for a spot on your boat?"

"Twice," the ferryman said. When Hana didn't understand, he pointed at Li, who had been standing quietly still at the doorway. "You'll have to win twice if you want me to take both of you aboard."

"Deal," Hana said before Li could say a word. "Are there any other terms that you need to set unfairly before you're done?"

"Well, if you're asking for it," Shou held up his necklace and pointed at the tile that was drawn with a boat in the center. "We'll be playing the game, Water Tribe rules. Shijin never taught you those rules, right? I'll have you know that Kawa was well versed in every single style, and we frequently played. Shijin, on the other hand, wouldn't touch my style, and said it was so stupid that he would never learn it."

Li coughed in the background.

Hana fell silent, staring blankly at the boat tile for a moment. She had faintly heard of the Water Tribe style once from Shijin, but that was a long time ago, and she had never bothered bringing up the play style. Everyone in the Earth Kingdom, even people that she had met from other nations seemed to play by the same set of rules. What were Water Tribe rules, then?

"You have nothing else to say?" Shou chuckled. "Well, then, off you go. Since you seem so intent on playing me, why not just play a match against me tomorrow? Unless you don't think Shijin taught you well enough that you can't learn something as simple as Water Tribe rules in one night?"

"Let's go," Hana growled.

She stomped over to Kupo, which woke up the badgermole before she wrapped him up in her arms and carried him out the door. With Kupo in one hand, she tapped Li with her other. The Water Tribe mercenary broke out of his blank stare and followed her.

"Hope you find a place to stay!" came a sneer behind her.

* * *

><p>"Ah!" Hana groaned. She was standing in a busy kitchen, with cooks pacing left and right, piling up used dishes in her wooden tub. Her arms and hands were red from scrubbing for hours, but from her past work, one didn't feel the soreness in his or her arms until you had finished doing a full day's work without rest. She was groaning instead, at her own hastiness. "I'm sorry for getting you into this, Li."<p>

"Not at all," said Li, happily scrubbing away in a larger tub next to her. "I'm sorry to say that I'm about as poor as you are. At least they were nice enough to let us have some food along with letting us stay in for the night. "

"No, not that," Hana said. "I'm talking about getting you to come along with me and get you involved in my own Pai Sho game. You can leave if you want. I'm sure at this rate it really might be easier to try to travel to Ba Sing Se by foot."

"And what am I going to eat on the way there if not those really nicely wrapped rice balls?" Li gave a sincere smile. "I might have been a mercenary, but I know how to be a gentleman too, and I can't leave a young girl like you alone if that means you're going to be stuck here. I'll see you to Ba Sing Se before we part."

"I'm very grateful," Hana turned back to her scrubbing.

The restaurant they were staying was a restaurant presumably known in town for very good soup dishes. Noodle soups. Fish soups. Wonton soups. The two hadn't tried the food yet but even the bare aroma had caused both their stomachs to growl loudly. It was getting later at night, but it seemed like the later it was, the more people streamed into the restaurant to eat. Hana suspected that much of the village was working later hours, trying to catch as many fish and gather as much firewood before the snow started falling in loads.

"But really," Hana growled. "What are the Water Tribe rules he keeps talking about? I've never seen that boat tile before, and Shijin told me that nobody takes Water Tribe Pai Sho games seriously."

"Your teacher would be right," Li said. "Nobody takes those rules seriously. The Water Tribe uses those rules for their youth. It's kind of like basic training for young people who haven't played the game. It just so happens that we get a bad reputation for it since no one gives any kind of basic beginning training the way we change the game to accommodate our young ones."

"Wait," Hana's hand almost slipped on a plate. "So you're saying Shou wants us to play a version of Pai Sho that's designed for little kids?"

"Yes, but that's a bit more difficult than you think it is," Li nodded. "The reason nobody takes those rules seriously outside the Water Tribe is because to anyone who understands the underpinnings of the game, all of the rules and pieces are ridiculously unbalanced, and every game boils down to one or two standard paths to the point where the game becomes boring."

"So why not just have your kids learn Pai Sho the right way?" Hana raised an eyebrow. "This seems like such a backwards way if you're going to have to unlearn the game eventually."

"That's what I was about to get to," Li said. "When I said youth before, what I really meant is that the Water Tribe only teaches this way of playing to girls. None of the boys learn this style usually, and even when girls play Pai Sho when they grow up, it's a standard to always use this watered down style with them. Many Water Tribesman see it as a form of courtesy."

"What?" Hana almost shrieked and once again lost control of a porcelain plate. "So you're saying that Shou is challenging me to a game that's designed only for girls, and it's a dumbed down version. What? Because girls can't handle the tough man's way of Pai Sho?"

"Frankly, yes, that's how they see it," Li said. "You must understand that the way we treat women in the Northern Water Tribe is very different than how noble ladies are treated in Ba Sing Se, or women in the Fire Nation. It's almost like how many women Air Nomads were treated. Different and segregated. It's a cultural barrier that some see as fitting and necessary to maintain tradition. Some, like myself, have left for those very reasons."

"So how does Shou know this style?" Hana scratched her head. "Shou's a man, yes?"

"I don't know," Li replied. "Some Water Tribesmen might have learned it for fun. Last time I checked, they did have small tournaments that occasionally used this style of play as a more cultural event. But that might have only supplemented the opinion that the Water Tribe isn't a nation that breeds top notch Pai Sho players. As for the man in question, I personally think he might just be bluffing. You don't proclaim to be a master of Water Tribe rules unless you're really just not a good player."

"Well, in any case," Hana mumbled. "Is this something I can learn overnight if I already know how to play Pai Sho?"

"It might disgust you learning it," Li stacked his last set of plates on a board next to him. "But yes, it is possible to learn it."

"Great," Hana patted her wet palm against her robes, where both Kupo and her bag of tiles were hidden. "Then would you mind teaching me how to play this style when we have some time later tonight? I'll trade you one of my rice balls."

"For one of those," Li grinned. "I would give anything."

And so, Hana found a new teacher. Later that night, after all of the guests and cooks had left the restaurant, and the head owner locked the two of them in the restaurant, Li and Hana moved one of the restaurant tables towards one of the few lights still glowing in the restaurant. Hana rolled her board onto the table and gave Li a set of Pai Sho pieces. Kupo was sleeping a few tables away, underneath a different lantern.

The wooden doors rattled a little bit as the winds outside picked up. There was no snow yet, but Hana could even then feel the coldness of the coming weather. She shivered a little bit, and Li brought the lamp, which was affixed to a short bendable piece of metal, closer to the table for some more warmth.

"I'll first have to warn you that I'm not the best Pai Sho player, so I'm not sure how good of a teacher I can be, but this style is straightforward enough that you don't have to worry too much hopefully," Li rubbed the wooden pieces in his palms. He thumbed the board next. "This is a nicely drawn board. The tiles are very expertly carved too. I wouldn't expect less from an Air Nomad."

"Alright," Hana said after laying four faceless tiles on the four corners of the canvas to keep the board down. "Where do we start?"

"Well," Li picked up the badgermole tiles from his pile and replaced the faceless tiles with the badgermole ones. "The first rule you learn in the Water Tribe style is that there are no badgermoles. After all, there aren't any in the poles. Instead, we have boat tiles, just like the one you saw on Shou's betrothal necklace. They are perhaps the most important piece in the game."

"There are no badgermoles?" Hana widened her eyes. "This is going to be tougher than I thought."

"Well, thank that there aren't any other tile differences, so for now, just pretend these faceless tiles are boat tiles," Li handed Hana two of the tiles. "Each player is allowed to place two boat tiles on the board. These boats have various strategic purposes, but the main thing you have to remember to get yourself into this mindset is that unlike badgermoles, boats can move tiles but only if they're placed on the ends of this square called the _shore_."

"What?" Hana almost laughed at the thought. "What do you mean move tiles?"

"Here, let me show you," Li held up a white lotus and a faceless tile. "Let's say that you placed this boat tile outside the center square. These four squares that are touching the edges of the center, we like to call the _ocean_. You may place boats anywhere in this ocean, but for purpose of strategy, there are few who would say that placing it anywhere but the shore is a good idea. Your boat may move seven steps up, down, left, or right along the shore. They may pass these narrow chokes where the sky bison are placed but they may not move on the central square."

"This makes it sound like the center of the board is almost completely irrelevant, if one of the most important pieces is centered on the edges," Hana frowned. This didn't seem like a fun version of Pai Sho.

"Now you're seeing why games can get really boring," Li nodded in agreement. "Now, watch this. If a tile is placed on the shore or adjacent to the shore, you may move that tile the same amount of spaces that your boat is moving, as if you were picking up the flower or piece as you move along."

"Can the boat tile capture other pieces then?" Hana asked. "What happens when it runs into another piece? Does it capture pieces or is it like the badgermole and just a purely defensive piece?"

"That's probably the only interesting part of this game," said Li. "If you crash a boat into another boat, both of the tiles are eliminated from the game. Other than that, the boat can capture flowers, wheels, but not sky bison tiles. They cannot move if there is a sky bison adjacent or in front of them."

"This seems like a useless tile," Hana mumbled. "What's stopping me from placing my white lotus tile in the middle? Your boats can never reach me."

"So what's stopping me then from adding an offensive piece the next turn and threatening then?" Li asked. "And then, if you try to threaten me with your own tile, I can just move a boat into position and push my tile away from yours every time you want to capture it."

"Sounds like a frustrating way to play," Hana sighed. "And without any badgermoles, you're right. I can't defend my white lotus as easily."

"That's right," Li nodded. "Remember. You can take flower pieces if you have a White Lotus on the field, and you can take non-flower pieces if both White Lotuses have been played. The issue becomes, however, if you deploy your white lotus second. If it's in the center, you can't expect your opponent to not take the initiative to strike since you won't have a badgermole to defend."

"This reminds me of a training period I had with Shijin a long time ago," Hana grinned. "He took away all of my badgermole tiles and forced me to play without them. It was hard."

"Your teacher sounds like a very capable one," Li nodded. "That is, indeed, a very important lesson to learn as a young Pai Sho student. Most people use tiles like the badgermole like a crutch, and they grow up with bad habits and have very awkward deployments because they overly on that one tile to defend everything."

"You sound like you have those same bad habits," Hana chuckled.

"I do," Li said, and Hana stopped laughing. "Don't worry. It's quite all right. I had to learn Pai Sho almost all by myself. No teacher really. Just observing games over and over again until I got the hang of the rules."

"That must have been tough," Hana murmured. "So that's why you were staring at all those Pai Sho games intently when we were traveling on the road?"

"I thought someone was staring at me, but I just couldn't tell from where," Li laughed, almost a little bit too loudly. He quieted down when Hana pointed at her badgermole pet just across at the other table. "But yes, that's what I was doing. Anyway, are you ready to play a few games and try it out for yourself?"

And so they played. Despite the fact that Li said he wasn't a very good player, Hana still had a lot of trouble with the new way of play. The boat tile changed everything. Her deployment, in what order she placed her tiles, where she placed them, and where she moved next. Even the number of pieces began to change. Slowly, after the first and the second games, Hana realized that a good strategy to employ would be to have two boats placed very early, so that she could move in opposite directions for maximize effect and range.

"That's a very common strategy," Li would note as the games went on. "But be careful of people putting some tiles behind your lines. Sometimes, in attempting to cover a lot of ground, you leave your back exposed to danger."

It was difficult at first for Hana. Not having her favorite piece kept her from playing her pieces as spread out as she used to. But she adapted. She learned. She remembered what Shijin had said in a time like this.

"Strategically speaking," Shijin said in her head as she tried experimenting with controlling the middle with a dragon tile in one of her next games. "This would be fine if you had badgermoles, but since you don't, you trying to control the middle would be pointless."

There were also a few more nuances about Water Tribe rules as she continued. For example, unlike before, she couldn't place any flowers like she had before in the spot labeled as the _ocean_. That meant that most of her tiles were forced to be either near or directly on the shore, which made her options a lot more limited than before. She experimented around with changing the placement of her flowers and the timing of those placements, but no matter what she did, she found that placing the flowers just adjacent to the _shore_ made the most sense.

Hana lost a lot at first. There was a feeling of discouragement, that if she couldn't beat Li, there was no way that she would be able to beat someone who had been able to play with someone as great as Shijin's mom. She had no idea who she was even like, but Hana never doubted that she must have been amazing. Hana wishfully thought that perhaps Shijin's mother had played with Shou out of pity, but she quelled the thought quickly out of her mind.

However, slowly but surely, Hana began to understand bit by bit the trends and patterns in this new style. It was definitely not harder than the Pai Sho she had been playing until now, but it was a new perspective of playing. She began devising her own strategies as the night went on, substituting her boat deployment in favor of earlier sky bison and fire lilies. Controlling one portion of the board so that one's deployment of boats was limited to a certain scope. She came up with two pronged defenses that buried her white lotus between layers of defenses surrounded by boat and wheel tiles.

"Now that's a situation where keeping a boat tile away from the shore might be a good idea," said Li when Hana constructed a near perfect wall between Li's pieces and her white lotus. "Notice how if I move my boat in there, I can target your White Lotus right from behind? You might want to be careful of that."

Hana felt like an eternity went by as she learned a whole new set of rules. By the end of it, Hana was convinced that the Water Tribe way of playing Pai Sho was undoubtedly the worst way of training young children to play the game, especially if it's a game that was designed only for women to play. However, her prejudices aside, she used the opportunity to think about how she could incorporate some of these strategies into the real Pai Sho. At the end of the day, what mattered most wasn't the game; it was beating Shou and getting a two way trip to Ba Sing Se.

Hana slept late that night.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Hana and Li appeared at Shou's door very early in the morning. There were dark rings beneath her eyelids. Shou seemed amused at the girl, whose eyes twitched occasionally from lack of sleeping.<p>

"Are you sure you can play me in this condition?" Shou asked. "You look like you'd fall asleep in the middle of our first game."

"I'm not tired," Hana waved Shou away. "Let's just get this over with."

Shou led the two of them of inside his home and they settled down at a table next to the fireplace. There, Shou had placed his own personal board, a wooden circle painted with old and fading colors. The board looked like it hadn't been used till recently. Shou had a set of his own Pai Sho pieces, and he motioned for Hana to sit down.

"Is Shijin still lugging that canvas he calls a Pai Sho board around," Shou ran his fingers over the delicately carved wood. "This is a real Pai Sho board, carved from some of the finest Airbenders with their bare hands. You don't come by antiques like these quite often."

"You mean _one_ Airbender carved this for you," Hana rubbed her eyes as she reached into her robe for her set of tiles. "You don't need to brag about what you got from Shijin's mom as gifts. You already disgust me enough as it is."

"Insult me all you want," Shou sat down, rummaging through his sack of tiles as well. "Just know that you'll be getting your due when I sail off for Ba Sing Se all by myself just to spite you."

"That's funny," Hana laughed. "I thought you were already spiting me when you said you'd play me Pai Sho, Water Tribe style. I didn't know the only style of Pai Sho you played was a style they teach to little girls like yourself."

"Why you," Shou growled. "It was Kawa who taught me this style."

"Oh," Hana raised an eyebrow. That was a curious subject, perhaps to pursue for another time. "That makes it even more amusing than."

"You're just all talk," Shou said.

He set down his first piece. It was the boat tile, placed at the very back of his board. Hana took one look at it, and despite a growing need to collapse and sleep, her lips curved upwards in a wide smile.

"Hey Shou," Hana said. She flipped three tiles between her nimble fingers, a trick she hadn't done in a very long time. "Why don't we make this match a best of five?"

"What?" Shou replied. "Why would you do that?"

"I can't stand that a Pai Sho player of your caliber can insult a player as good as my master, let alone brag that you were taught how to play Pai Sho by his even more famous mother," Hana said, and slapped a sky bison tile on the board. "I'm going to beat you down two times in a row in this fake game you like to call Pai Sho."

"And then, we're going to play _real_ Pai Sho, and I'm going to beat you again."

_To be continued..._


	15. Lesson Fifteen

**Lesson Fifteen: The Water Tribe and Their Fake Tiles, Part Three**

* * *

><p>"He's only ten years old!" Kawa stood before the five elders. "He does not need to be dealt the same punishment as me."<p>

"He is responsible for why you are receiving this punishment," said the elder to the far left. Master Pang. "He is lucky to even be alive, had it not been for you. If there is one person we are truly sorry for handing our judgment, it would be you."

"Then let me bare all of it," Kawa held her hands against her chest. "I'm ready to sacrifice anything. Everything."

"We know you are," said the elder to the far right. Master Sa. "But everything your son has done was a violation of what few rules we have. No young Airbender should have left the premises unless followed by a guardian until he or she is ready to embark on his own. Yet, not only did he not follow that, he convinced young Mao, Seigi, To, and Lan to follow him. You heard Seigi. The other three…so young…"

There was a deep silence in the room. Outside, one or two eavesdroppers wept. Kawa was speechless. There was nothing she could say.

"He was also told not to go to the village. He and everyone else were told extensively about the Wu Jian who stayed there," said the elder to the right of Master Pang. It was Master Bun. "Yet, not only did he do that, he did the unthinkable of trying to approach them, and out of what? The girl says he saw them picking on someone and got mad, but look how he turned out."

"Do we exile him for having a heart?" Kawa regretted saying that the moment she said it. She knew it had nothing to do with who Shijin was. Shijin was a good boy, but rules were rules for a reason.

"No," Master Sa's gruff voice made him sound angrier than he really was. "We exile him because we have one."

"He will need time to heal, and this temple will not, and I fear cannot ever, give that healing," said the elder in the middle. It was Master Zin that spoke. He was the youngest of all the older masters and he looked at Kawa. His stoic expression forced. "Kawa, you know me better than anyone else. Shijin may not understand but this place will have too many memories now. If there was another way to keep my son, both here and in the mind, I would have made that choice already.

Kawa gripped her hands tightly. She knew that was the truth.

"They will misunderstand," Kawa bit her lip. "He will misunderstand, I know it. He's not a boy who easily gets things like this."

"People will misunderstand what they don't understand. Nothing we do will change that now," Master Pang shook his head. "And it is not our duty to attend to dispelling rumors, nor is it our duty to calm the hearts of the parents who no longer have their children."

"And I know my son," Master Zin said. "He will understand when he is older. For now, let him know that I was the one who made the decision. Let him know that I blamed you too. Let him know all of those things. If that will help him understand the gravity of his mistake, then I'll let him feel that way for the rest of his life."

"Zi-" Kawa almost burst out, but stopped at the last moment. She bowed deeply with composure. "Yes."

"Then it is settled," Master Zin looked to his left and to his right. He spoke with clarity, his eyes focused on Kawa, as if engraining her image into his mind forever. The two shared a moment together. The other elders looked at Master Zin as if they wanted to tell him to get going with the ceremony, but out of respect chose not to. That moment lasted almost too long.

"You and Shijin will be exiled from the temples. All of them. You will never be allowed to set foot up these mountains again. While your circumstances is one rarely even thought of, it is a great sadness that we must, under the guidance and lessons of Yangchen, banish one of her greatest disciples."

The hall once again bore a very long silence. Even after the decision had befallen, everyone within earshot seemed like they were still holding their breaths. It was the last member of the council who relaxed everyone.

"I would like to interrupt briefly, now the formalities are over," said the elder to the left of Master Sa. Master Yuu. "What about your disciple? Seigi? Are we to send her back to the Eastern Air Temple once you leave?"

"Yes," Kawa nodded. "I will take her myself, if I may. I have, of course, been with her almost all her life. But if it's the training that you believe she still requires, don't think so much of it."

"It will be difficult finding a teacher that will bond as much as you have with her," replied Master Yuu.

"You heard her side of what happened today," Kawa said. "While not prideful, and it was her loss, for however little time, it's clear that she held off five Wu Jian in the face of fear. When she is in her prime, Seigi _will_, as there is no shred of doubt in my mind, be at least twice the Airbender I was when I was first became master."

* * *

><p>Hana opened her eyes and saw a clear star filled night. There was the faint sound of two wooden oars paddling against the water. Her body swayed back and forth, and as she sat up she saw Shou staring at the distant shoreline and Li sleeping on the other side of the small fishing boat. On her stomach, Kupo was lying beneath some fur covers. He would occasionally whine softly in his sleep, as it was unusual for him to be so blind in the middle of a lake. At the edge of the boat was a small lantern that lit the dark waters around them.<p>

"You're awake already?" Shou whispered. "You don't sleep much, do you?"

That's right. Hana remembered now. She had won every match against Shou in a decisive fashion, a clean five games to zero. There was a game where he didn't last ten turns, about as one-sided as Shijin's and Hana's matches. After the first match, Shou had laughed, nervously, but proudly proclaimed luck had been involved. The second game his response was stern, and Hana went on to win the next three games quickly and decisively without another word from Shou. The games where they played real Pai Sho were the most embarrassing. Once they were finished, Shou stood up and left the room without another word.

At first Hana had wondered if Shou would go back on their deal, but his father merely said that they needed to give the man time to deal with what had just transpired.

"Shou is very prideful," said Lao Yu. "But he is also very honorable. He will follow through on his promise. He is a good boy, I assure you. There are just parts of his past that bring up uncomfortable memories. I hope you understand."

That evening, Shou came from his room upstairs, fully dressed with an extra fur coat in his arms, and he guided Hana and Li to the dock nearby. His expression seemed a lot mellower now than his angry look just a few hours before. When they boarded, Hana instantly fell asleep, having not slept the night before in preparation to play against Shou.

"Thank you for taking us across the lake," Hana said. She had forgotten to thank him before they boarded. "Li and I are very grateful."

"Yeah, yeah," Shou grumbled. "Just don't gloat all the way to Ba Sing Se, you hear?"

"You still sore about that?" Hana rubbed her eyes. "I may not be very good, but even I know that you're not a player I would brag about defeating."

"You and Shijin both have that in common," Shou sighed. "That attitude I mean. It's the kind where you act humble and make your opponents feel awful at the same time. It's just one of the many reasons why I can't stand that man."

"Or maybe you're just jealous of all the time he spent with his mom," the boat rocked just a little bit. Hana smirked as she reached for her bag. She had stored some rations for the remainder of the trip. "Did I hit a soft spot?"

"It's not what you think," Shou stuttered and took a deep breath. He put down the oars and sat down. "Well, even if it was, it's been a long time now. I haven't seen Kawa in years since she passed away, and Shijin probably looks a lot different than what he last looked like when he came to cross this lake to Ba Sing Se."

"You two were probably good friends, right?" Hana asked, handing over a third of a rice ball she pulled from her bag. The badgermole sitting in her lap awoke to the smell of fresh food, and Hana fed the other third to him. "Despite all the bad things you say about him."

"I don't know," Shou looked across the surface of the water. Aside from the ripples made from their boat gliding over the middle of the lake, most of the water was very still. A few chunks of ice floated up on the surface, and one or two of those had fish encased inside. "He was always one of those people who wouldn't say much about himself, and I couldn't stand how he didn't care much about Pai Sho when his mother put so much attention into teaching it to him. She could've spent all that time teaching me instead."

"That must have been a long time ago," Hana said, her mouth half full.

"I'll take my defeat as proof of that," Shou said, popping the rice ball into his mouth and standing back up to row. "I guess I was wrong to challenge you in the first place. I overestimated my abilities greatly."

"What happened to the grumpy arrogant man I met back at the village?" Hana grinned, pulling out another rice ball. She ripped it in half, but Shou shook his head. "I'm starting to miss him."

"Believe me, I'll get more frustrated as the day grows longer. I might even start regretting I took you two and dump you overboard before we get there," said Shou. "That, and we also may have just started off on the wrong foot. Sorry about that."

Hana took the lantern from the edge of boat and carefully pulled up on one side of the boat. She reached into her bag again and brought out her Pai Sho board and tiles. She spread the board on the shaky deck and began her morning routine of playing herself. She first started with replaying all of the real Pai Sho games she had played with Shou yesterday, before starting to review the earliest games from her memory.

"Why are you replaying those games?" said Shou when he recognized that she was reciting the games they had played. "You won."

"Yes," Hana nodded. "But there are many more ways to win, and there are other things that I can learn from you. For instance, what not to do in a game."

"That's unnecessarily harsh," Shou frowned.

"Harsh, but necessary," said Hana. "Take for instance in the second to the last game. You deployed your sky bison first, and then proceeded to place two flower tiles in a row. While you play two useless tiles, I can play two tiles that can move, like another sky bison and a wheel or a badgermole."

"So all you learned was to not place too many flower tiles?" said Shou. "That doesn't sound like much of a lesson."

"By itself, no," said Hana. "But if there's one thing that Shijin taught me, it's that there's an infinite number of ways to play Pai Sho, and usually no one style is worse than another. So the question then is, under what circumstances is it beneficial to place two flower tiles in a row? Under what conditions would your strategy be considered valid?"

"And when would that be?" Shou asked?

"I don't know," Hana scratched her head. "Obviously, I don't know everything yet, so I could very well be wrong in almost every instance that adding two flowers consecutively is a bad idea, but it's still an interesting strategy to think about."

"And you do this every day?" Shou raised an eyebrow.

"I used to play a few games with Shijin every morning before we set off to travel," Hana said. "But ever since we've been separated, I just try to replay a lot of our games from my memory, or I try to play against myself. It's definitely not as hard when I know exactly what moves I'm going to make, but my master taught me well. With his words I learn new things every day still."

An hour into playing, Li woke up and Hana shared some of her rations with him. He offered to help Shou row the boat, but the ferryman rejected the offer, so he offered to be a practice partner for Hana that morning in Pai Sho. They played for another hour before the sun finally rose over the lake, turning the dark waters into a glistening mirror.

"I hear the tournaments in Ba Sing Se are really tough," said Li, as he stared at the board. He had lost almost all but one of his offensive pieces. "They're separated into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels I hear and it's really competitive working your way to the top."

"Hey, you mean this girl is going to Ba Sing Se to play in the Pai Sho rings?" Shou scoffed. "Even Kawa had a difficult time in the advanced tiers, and from what Shijin said about the beginner and intermediate rings, those players weren't anything like pushovers."

"Isn't that exciting though?" Hana smiled, finishing off the game with Li with a double pronged attack with a pair of badgermoles and a wheel tile. "To play with some of the best players in the world. Not everyone gets to have that kind of experience."

"And why are you coming to Ba Sing Se?" Shou turned to Li. "I'm assuming it's not just to escort a girl to the city gates then leave?"

"I'm just a wanderer from the north who's settling down somewhere," Li shrugged. "I imagine Ba Sing Se is the right place to settle down for a worn out soldier like myself. Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to start a family, or finally get good at Pai Sho like Hana here."

At that moment, Hana started laughing. It started out as a short giggle, but after a second she broke into a fit of mirth and tears. The boat rocked even harder than before and Shou had a hard time putting the vessel back in balance. The two men in the boat looked at their third companion with strange glances. Did she really think Li was that ugly?

"Sorry, sorry," Hana sniffed when she was done. "It's just that this is kind of amazing, don't you think? I mean what are the chances that the three of us, completely different people from different parts of the world, happened to be here, right now, watching this beautiful sunrise, playing Pai Sho, and discussing what our future holds in store for us? When you think about that, it must be some kind of miracle that we've all come this far."

"That's when you know she's been trained by an Airbender," Shou said. "A profound and almost difficult to understand appreciation for all of life and its mysterious ways."

"Well, I have come a long way from home," Hana admitted. She looked down at Kupo with a strong sense of nostalgia. "We've come a long way, haven't we?"

That morning, Shou's boat landed at a dock just on the outskirts of the road that led to the main gate. Unlike the village where Shou laid residence, this place was quite crowded with travelers, refugees, and armed men patrolling the area. Merchants and traveling caravans went to and from the city as well. The sun was high in the sky, but it provided little warmth against the strong winds.

It was here that Li and Hana gave their farewells to Shou.

"Thank you once again for taking us all this way," Hana bowed deeply along with Li. "I will not forget this, and maybe I'll visit you again to play some more Pai Sho."

"Ah, don't waste that on a person like me," Shou waved her off. "Just come grab a good dinner next time. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a nice nap before my return trip."

The remaining ground to cover to Ba Sing Se was just a straight road that led to the towering and majestic walls. Even from miles away, the walls were clearly visible. It was the first time that Hana had seen them, and even Kupo seemed fixated on the massive work of Earthbending in front of them and constantly seemed to be bidding Hana to rush as fast as they could to the walls.

As expected, there was a long line of people waiting to get into the city. There were many merchants who received priority as they were escorted by armed mercenaries to the front of the line to be among the first to enter the cities. Farmers who lived within the first ring of the city, according to Li, were also given priority. Refugees and everyone else had to wait as they marched slowly towards the front. Yet with every step, the majestic walls of Ba Sing Se grew closer, and Hana could not help but wonder what kind of adventures awaited her within the walls.

_Bao Qian_, thought Hana. _That's the person Shijin wanted me to meet_.

Sometime in the early afternoon, Hana's stomach growled as she realized that Kupo had ate up the rest of her rations. He had, after all, not eaten very well during the duration when Shijin was separated from them. Her hunger was made worse by the fact that there were many food carts that lined the road to the front of Ba Sing Se, all of them selling a variety of meats, steamed vegetables, and soups. It all smelled so good, and Hana could recognize the cuisines too.

There were tables for anybody willing to eat in the hot stone pots that Shijin had brought Hana to in some of the northern villages. There were great noodles that she had eaten with Hong at a festival dedicated to badgermoles. Unhealthy yet tasty breakfast treats like flour cooked in boiling oil. Pork and soup wrapped in thin but sturdy buns, placed on top of steamed lettuce, and packaged in bamboo boxes, much like the dumplings that she had eaten in Taku.

_This_ is what it meant to be called the cultural center of the world, Hana realized. She reached for her coin pocket, before realizing that, much like her food, all of her money had already been spent. The growling in her stomach intensified, and she felt slightly embarrassed that so close to her destination she had to feel the effects of hunger when she had stayed strong for so long.

"Li, I'm going to go pick up some food, so I'll be back in a few hours," said Hana, holding on tight to her bag of Pai Sho tiles. She turned to the people in line behind her, a family of four.

"A few hours?" Li raised an eyebrow. "And I thought you were out of money? This food looks pretty expensive too. I'm sure all the merchants are overcharging all the food when it's clear that we don't have many other options if we want to eat."

"Don't worry about it," Hana grinned and walked off, her trusty badgermole following right behind her.

Hana found a spot between two food carts selling steamed vegetables and grilled chicken and pork. She unfolded her canvas Pai Sho board, set the four blank tiles on the four corners, and piled half of the tiles on the other side of the board. She crossed her legs, moved her own tiles close to her, and waited. She knew from experience, that someone would come soon enough.

"Four copper pieces that it's a farmer," Hana chuckled to herself.

Sure enough, just ten minutes after setting up her tiles, a farmer returning from the fields with a bucket full of crops came passing by and noticed Hana's makeshift Pai Sho board. He came over and set the bucket down right next to the cart of steamed vegetables and took a moment to admire all of the well-crafted tiles.

"Would you like to play?" Hana smiled. "Just two copper coins is all you need to bet."

"I usually don't play with bets," the farmer said. "And it doesn't look like you have any money on you either. What kind of play are you trying to pull, girl?"

"If you win, you can take my entire Pai Sho collection," Hana waved to the canvas board, the tiles, and even the nice bag that was used to fit all of those things together. "What do you have to lose?"

"Not much compared to you," the farmer let out a bark as he fished around for his coins. "Today must be my lucky day!"

Hana swiped the two copper coins that the farmer presented and waved for her first opponent to make the first move. From her experience with Shijin making money off of farmers, she could have definitely requested a higher number of pieces since he had looked satisfied with his crops, but she still didn't want to risk making too high a bet and losing an easy victory in the process.

The farmer opened with a badgermole tile in the middle of board. Hana responded with a sky bison tile in her left corner. The farmer placed his white lotus right next to his badgermole tile. Hana placed her own white lotus directly across from her opponent's badgermole. Her opponent set a wheel tile in front of his badgermole while Hana countered with a badgermole right in front of her flower tile, which was just inside the range of her sky bison.

A chrysanthemum to the left side of Hana's board trapped her sky bison, so she placed another sky bison tile on the right side of the board. When the farmer placed another chrysanthemum, Hana couldn't help but remember her conversation with Shou that morning. She placed a wheel tile to the left of her badgermole tile, which not only protected the badgermole from harm, but now also threatened her opponent's white lotus tile. A bit concerned, the farmer placed realized that he was stuck and needed to play defensive. He added another badgermole into the mix, but that was his first and final mistake.

Hana threw down another wheel tile at the bottom of the board, in perfect alignment with both of the chrysanthemum tiles that were blocking her sky bison. With no badgermoles to defend, the farmer was forced to finally start adding offensive pieces to the board, but by then it was too late, Within two turns, Hana had freed both of her sky bison, and with the skies her domain, victory was clinched soon after.

"Now that was an impressive display of Pai Sho," the farmer nodded his head, a slightly sad look on his face as Hana clenched the two copper coins she had just won. "Good day to you miss. I definitely have something have a story of a gambler that I can tell to my family when I get back home."

"The pleasure was all mine," said Hana as she bowed to her opponent. Graceful in victory and defeat, was what Shijin would have said if he were here now. "Have a safe journey home."

It was only then that Hana realized that she had drawn a small crowd. A few other farmers had lined up to see a young girl beating an older man at Pai Sho, and there were at least five more that were willing to throw down some coins to play as well. The first one lining up tossed in three copper coins.

A hand tapped Hana's shoulder, and Hana looked to her right to see the grilled meat cart owner smiling down at her. He held some a stick of grilled chicken in his hand, which he handed to her.

"For giving me some business," he said to her, before turning back to the grill.

For the next two hours, Hana would play quick Pai Sho matches against anyone who was willing to put down some coins. It wasn't large winnings. Two copper coins here, three there, and the occasional four. She didn't win all the time either. There were a few farmers who were above average, and Hana still made many errors in judgment that resulted in avoidable losses. But she held her own against even the opponents she lost against, requesting a rematch and defeating them in the second attempt.

They weren't difficult opponents, of course, but there was still satisfaction in winning and earning something out of it. Most of them were farmers, and the rest were a few older boys who proclaimed to also know how to play Pai Sho. Many of them didn't like the idea of losing to a girl, but when they were crushed convincingly, there was not much for them to say. However, as she kept winning, a good portion of the crowd began to walk away, as challengers began to realize that the gambler in front of them was more skilled than they were.

The last match of the day was perhaps the most interesting. A passerby merchant walked by and noticed the Pai Sho board and happily sat down for a game. At that time, Hana had earned just enough for a single silver coin, and the merchant placed exactly one silver piece on the board to bet with. At first, she considered ending the day with just her silver piece, but something compelled her to take this last match on.

"I want you to go first," said the merchant when Hana motioned for him to start first. "You've been telling everyone to move first, but I'm of the belief that this game is about the second mover's advantage. I'm guessing that's why you win so much."

"Fine," Hana nodded, and then placed her hand over the sky bison tile. It was the safest opening after all to start with the sky bison.

But as her hand hovered over the tile, she hesitated. For one, her opponent's hands were nimbly shifting between two chrysanthemums, which suggested he had been watching her for quite some time. And second, something felt right about the tile right underneath her sky bison. The white lotus tile. She had a gut feeling that playing the game's most important tile first, would be a gambit worth the risk.

She placed the tile down, to the surprise of the remaining viewers. Even the traveling merchant looked a little confused, but his austere face returned quickly. He opted for a wheel tile directly parallel with Hana's white lotus, but without a white lotus of his own, he wouldn't be able to attack yet. Hana once again hovered over the sky bison tile, prepared to deploy the first, but once again found herself conflicted by an even more attractive option. It seemed like her discussion with Shou kept coming back to her and it wouldn't stop nagging her unless she put her idea to the test.

Once again, without placing an offensive tile, Hana laid down the fire lily, which made it two flower tiles in a row, right in front of her white lotus. The rest of the crowd seemed to hold their breath in expectation. What was this young girl going to do with two powerless pieces?

The merchant felt in control at that point, and placed his white lotus tile directly behind his wheel tile, granting him the ability to strike at Hana's fire lily.

It was an amateur mistake, and it was going to cost this merchant his silver coin.

Hana threw a wheel to protect the fire lily. The merchant threw down yet another wheel in front of his first wheel to prepare for a full frontal assault on the front. Hana knew that was useless, but she wanted to prepare a few extra precautions in case of a counter play. She placed a badgermole tile next to the fire lily, granting it extra protection. The merchant visibly furrowed his brow as he realized his time wasting mistake, and moved a wheel tile to his left to attack the badgermole.

At that moment, Hana moved her wheel up and all the way to her opponent's side of the board, placed next to the merchant's white lotus. On the back foot, the merchant placed a badgermole below his recently moved wheel tile to protect his most important piece. By now, everyone was waiting for Hana to play the legendary white dragon that could only be played after the fire lily was deployed, but that was just a distraction. She placed yet another wheel, this time next to her badgermole for protection.

By now, the merchant saw what had happened. His white lotus, already threatened by the wheel tile to his right, was only defended by a badgermole to his left, which was now being threatened by Hana's other wheel tile that could easily move down to threaten it. His position was compromised. It didn't matter how aggressive he played, he would simply lose unless he put some other pieces on the field. Unfortunately, the only pieces available were the fire lily, which would take too long to deploy, and the sky bison, which were easily blocked.

The merchant scratched his head for a few more seconds, and then bowed his head.

"It's my loss," the merchant tossed the silver coin over to Hana's side. "Splendid play."

"It was a pleasure," said Hana, and that ended the last match of the day.

It was late afternoon by then, and Hana found Li near the front of the line, where had had convinced the people around him to allow his hard working companion back into the line. She had bought a good amount of food, as the two carts next to her were more than happy to give her some extra servings for her presence, and the two of them shared the late lunch as their position in the line grew closer and closer to the front.

Finally, as dusk approached, the two of them reached the front of the line. The great walls of Ba Sing Se were parted here. There were guards at the front asking a few simple questions. People's names. Their business in the city. If they had any dangerous things that they were bringing into the city, or if they had families.

Suddenly, Li turned to Hana as he became the next person to go in line. There was an expression on his face that Hana had seen before. The same expression that Shijin had given only a few weeks before.

It was another goodbye.

"This looks like it's it," said Li. "I think it's here where we are going to part ways. I assume we both have very different things to do from here on out. Though I guess since we're both in the city, perhaps we'll run into each other some time."

"Yeah, though it feels like it's almost too soon to say goodbye," Hana smiled half-heartedly and threw her arms around the old soldier. Perhaps all along she knew that when they had reached their destination they would part ways. She didn't think it would be this soon, though. "Thank you for traveling with me."

"I should be thanking you. I will never forget the taste of those first rice balls. Take care and good luck," Li returned the embrace, and then turned to meet the guard calling him up to the front. By the time Hana was called and they had finished asking her numerous questions, Li was already nowhere to be seen among the hundreds of other people walking in and out of the city.

A sudden loneliness and emptiness filled Hana's heart. For a moment, she wanted to think that Li could have at the very least stayed with her until the two of them had walked past this enormous opening in Ba Sing Se's wall. She then thought about how much she would have begged to stay with Li for a little bit longer to get used to the city, and realized that for the sake of not burdening the soldier more than he already was, it was probably for the best that they parted here.

There was an even deeper question that probed her, too. It was here that she realized that all journeys, no matter how long or short, came to an end somehow. Thinking on the half year that she had spent with Shijin and the game of Pai Sho, she began to wonder if the end of this journey would feel just as stale and empty as Li's departure.

At that thought, Hana shook her head quickly to forget about it. For now, she needed to focus on the things she still needed to know. She could live on her own. She had done it before, if only for a short amount of time.

"Let's go Kupo," Hana said.

So, together, the two of them walked through the gates and into the city of Ba Sing Se.

_To be continued…_

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><p><strong>AN: **It's been too long since I updated, but here's the "long awaited" update if anyone was still waiting for it. For a while I was thinking that I might never get back on track with this, but then I came to a single realization: That unless I'm mistaken, I'm really the _only_ fanfic in the entire ATLA fandom that has the novelty of using Pai Sho as a plot device in a way that is more than just a pseudo-philosophical lesson and builds a world around Pai Sho of which has never even been remotely attempted in ATLA Fanfiction. With that motivation in my mind, I feel almost an obligation to finish this story, in all of its Pai Sho glory.

Thank you to **Loopy****777 **for pretty much following this through the entire way with me. He's pretty much encouraged me from the beginning that a story of this caliber could be really successful, and while it's not the most read thing ever on FFN, it's a personal success to me.

Also special thanks to artists **Nujabes**, **Taku Iwasaki**, **Kawai Kenji**, and countless others that have served as the mood setters for this story.

This will hopefully be my last author's note before I finish the story, so I hope that those who have followed, let me know what you think, and I hope you enjoy the remainder.


	16. Lesson Sixteen

**Lesson Sixteen: The Nomad's Path Reconstructed, Part One**

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><p>Seigi stood in the middle of a grassy field. It was a bright sunny afternoon at the Eastern Air Temple and there was a gentle breeze that lightly pushed in from the east. Around Seigi were five stone pillars that formed a pentagon, and sitting at the top of each pillar was a master Airbender. They had all come to observe her today, for today was the day she demonstrated her technique that would determine if she was ready to become a master.<p>

"The technique I'm going to show you all today is the extension of a breathing exercise," said Seigi Nohito, hands folded behind her back. "It's a defensive ability that if mastered may prove to be both your greatest weapon and your savior from a killing blow."

"Surely you don't think you can attain the title of master by showing us a way to hold our breaths," one of the monks behind Seigi smirked. Her name was Xiao Fang, a relatively young master known for her beauty and airbending talent in the Eastern Air Temple council. "Even if you are one of the late Master Kawa's favorite students, you are still young. Don't think we're just going to let you pass on a whi-"

"Will you be quiet and just let her finish," said the master in the middle, Master Boa. "Seigi, carry on."

"Thank you, master," Seigi bowed, ignoring the seething monk. "As I was saying, this is an ability based on controlled breathing, but this is no ordinary drill. It requires intense concentration, especially under fast paced environments. I can only sustain this technique in combat for no longer than fifteen seconds. Any longer and your body will suffer severe damage from lack of air."

"Fifteen seconds?" Master Xiao Fang barked, almost rising from her seat. "What a mockery is this. A Wu Jian would cu-"

"Quiet or I will personally remove you from this session," said Master Boa, her words cut into the atmosphere like a newly sharpened sword. Xiao Fang glowered at Master Boa but returned to her silence. "Seigi, I apologize for this. You may continue."

"As I'm sure you all know," Seigi continued. "Our most basic breathing exercises are designed for us to achieve emotional, spiritual, and most forgotten of them all, physical balance. To reach the pinnacle of spiritual and emotional enlightenment, one must be able to connect with their every surroundings, feel the material world as it is and be able to let it go. That, I have surmised, is the true intention of our breathing exercises."

"In that case," Seigi announced. "There must be a way for us to channel our airbending through meditation, as you will now observe."

"Seigi," said Master Boa. "I must remind you that nonviolence and pacifism are the core teachings of our people. You bring us today an ability that you cite is for self-defense, and while we all understood the need to protect ourselves, we do not actively push for imagining new techniques that may bring harm to others."

"I understand your view, but I disagree," Seigi shook her head. "Yangchen's disciples have, for generations now, improved airbending not just as art form, but as a method of self-defense. We travel around the world, and too often do we hear about untrained Airbenders being kidnapped, robbed, and slain by those who wish to do us harm. We teach ourselves how to escape situations and negotiate our way out of bad situations, but as the Wu Jian have shown, there are powerful people in this world that may not be willing to reason."

"As someone who held Kawa dear to her heart and as someone who has watched you for years since her exile," said Master Boa. "I know what you have been through, but your master and her exile represented what was the end to a long era of division in our history. Yangchen's teachings, while important, are no longer the centerpiece of our beliefs. We will use airbending where we must, but we will not allow for techniques developed for the sake of combat to serve as rites of passage for becoming a master."

"Air is the element of freedom," Seigi replied. "What good are these kinds of traditions if we do not allow those who wish to master their bending to master it in the way they wish? What if a child one day decides to use airbending as a toy? Or as a game? Should we not allow such an Airbender to become a master simply on the basis that their ability does not satisfy the criteria that designates airbending as a sacred art and not a tool for play?"

"You make a fair point, but such a point has been said throughout the centuries to no avail," another one of the masters to the right of Master Boa spoke up this time. She was the oldest among them. "We only allow those who can craft a technique fit for the generations to become master, and those techniques hold the true nature of our teachings to heart. Dedication to enlightenment, release from the physical needs of this world, and becoming one with our spiritual selves. We do not discourage those from seeking their own techniques, but we do hope that they abide by a standard should they be accepted as a master among us."

"Your point seems like you wish to only allow certain types of people to become master. In that case, I sincerely hope that your desire to not see this technique is not because of my heritage," Seigi said. "Yes, we have held such traditions for centuries, but times have changed. Who would have thought that an Air Nomad born from an exile and a cook in the Earth Kingdom could one day stand before you now as a student of one of this temple's most accomplished members?"

"You know we would never discriminate based on your upbringing," Master Boa started.

"But it was clear that only one person was willing to train me when I was brought here. I, who had no talent in airbending whatsoever," Seigi argued. "What part of our teachings tells us to neglect a child brought to the Air Temples, and then refuse to offer her even a chance at becoming master after she has shown promise?"

"What a load of rubbish," Xiao Fang stood up from her seat. "This is why I wanted to decline your request to this test to become master. Your head is filled with nothing but revenge and guilt for what happened to Kawa, her son, and the other kids at the Northern Air Temple. I see in you, only the desire to harm those who you believed have wronged you, and that is, and will never be the way of the Air Nomads."

"And I believe there is a way for our two worlds to coexist," Seigi said. "For Yangchen's disciples, who advocated for improving our physical connection to the world to better understand our spiritual side, to set a lasting and good impression on future generations. There is nothing wrong in fighting, in protecting those who are dear to us, in the face of those who are in the wrong. I will not deny that I am influenced by my past and my disapproval of the Northern Council's decision on my master, but judge me for what I have learned through my years, and then tell me if my ability is the personification of some misplaced vengeance."

"You may doubt my intentions all you want," Seigi continued. "But all of you know that I have spent more time meditating and reading through scrolls in the library than I have practiced airbending. I have engaged more in the fine arts of calligraphy, literature, and landscaping that many of your own disciples have most likely ignored. And I imagine that I am a far better Pai Sho player than any of you."

It was at this point, when Master Boa and the older master next to her started to chuckle. They turned to each other for a moment and nodded as if mutually agreeing on a plan of action. Xiao Fang cast the two of them a disapproving frown.

"As always, our conversations lead us in interesting directions," said Master Boa. "Very well. We will proceed through this test as normal despite our reservations. We will be judging your technique on its skill, its merits as a technique worthy of the next generation, and your character. You may begin when ready."

"Yes, Master Boa," Seigi bowed.

She had already prepared herself from the beginning of her explanation, so all Seigi needed to do was close her eyes. She first started by taking breaths, inhaling and exhaling at long intervals. Without her sight, Seigi listened to the sound of birds chirping outside, smelled the hot soup boiling in the kitchen nearby, and felt the almost unnoticeable traces of the wind's current moving around her body. She concentrated, her mind focusing on those currents, allowing her meditative state to become one with the physical world.

As she did, she beckoned to the wind around her body, slowly drawing longer and longer breaths. Intervals of five seconds turned to six to seven to eight to nine to ten. Small wisps of air began to settle around her hands, face, and legs. She steadied herself, feeling the currents around her, and then feeling what those currents were touching. The softest pieces of dust and sand in the air, the loose blade of grass, the fallen petals of a flower. Those currents became another part of her body.

After a full minute of concentrating on the touch and feel of the wind around her, she raised both of her hands and clapped her palms together. Her eyes flashed open and she exhaled a final strong breath. A blast of air, with Seigi at its epicenter, fanned out in a circle and shook the field, the rumble almost shaking Xiao Fang off her pillar. In that instant, the air condensed around Seigi into a rapid current that wrapped around every bit of exposed flesh and clothing.

"In this form," Seigi said, opening her eyes. "The air around your body will make you able to move faster, cut things with ease, and deflect even swords with just the wave of your hand. It is a technique where the wind will become part of you, an extension of your arm, your body, your mind, as a sword and shield is the extension of one's arms. It requires excellent breathing control, as the air around you will dissipate if you cannot maintain internal balance. That's why this may be more suited to a dance or impressive mastery of airbending than a fight where your body will need volumes of air to keep moving, but for those who can maintain their calm even in a life or death situation, this technique may be an invaluable asset."

Each of the five masters, even Xiao Fang, did not say anything as Seigi maintained her wind shield for a little while longer before allowing it to disappear. Finally, Master Boa spoke.

"How old are you, Seigi," said Master Boa. She did not look surprised by the ability, nor was there any hint that showed she was impressed. However, what was important was that Master Boa was smiling.

"I will turn seventeen soon," said Seigi.

"Not the youngest should you be deemed a master today," said Master Boa, nodding while she spoke. "But you are still young nonetheless Seigi."

"You have worked hard, Seigi."

* * *

><p>After years of training in the temples, learning the ways of the Air Nomads, understanding their games, culture, and ways of life, it was Seigi's hand to hand combat skills that she prized the most. It was her method of attack, the tool she would use to defend and protect the people she cared about. It was the first set of skills she had learned when training to be an Airbender, and it was that sort of pride that had caught her off guard back in Taku when Shijin had unveiled a technique that countered her powerful first strike.<p>

But today she sensed that she was facing someone far stronger than she was, and if she wanted to win, she needed to relinquish any presence of pride. There could only be confidence, not arrogance. As she charged straight towards the Wu Jian agent in front of her, Seigi could hear the light footsteps of Shijin as he ran into the forest and disappeared. He was right to leave, and Seigi had commanded him to, but there was a faint feeling of sadness building up in her throat.

That feeling was extinguished quickly. Her opponents twin swords were aimed straight at her charging form, gleaming in the afternoon sun. They were Seigi's first targets.

As she stepped into the range of his blades, the mercenary instantly raised weapons and slashed downwards with the sword on his right. With a swipe of her hand, Seigi hit the hilt of the blade with a thin slice of air. The sudden force ripped the sword out of the Wu Jian's hand and when the mercenary thrust his second sword in a stabbing motion, Seigi used her right hand to send the same slice of air and sent that blade flying out of the man's hand as well.

With his midsection exposed, Seigi brought her right hand back to her center and took a deep breath as she readied a fatal attack.

But even as Seigi lined up her finishing palm strike, the Wu Jian had recovered even faster than Seigi could anticipate. With the two swords out of his hands, the mercenary turned his body, tucked in his right arm, and with his left hand holding onto his right fist, slammed his elbow into Seigi's midsection with a surprising burst of speed. Then, her opponent stomped one foot on the ground. A pillar shot out from the dirt and there was no dodging it. Seigi could hear a crack as the thin pillar smashed into her ribs.

The impact sent her flying through the air, but she righted herself midflight and landed on her two feet and skidding backwards. The pain where the pillar had cracked a rib was fresh in her mind, but she couldn't allow herself to show any weakness. She continued breathing as normal, even though her lungs were crying for more air, and stretched her two palms out in front of her, in preparation for the next engagement.

_I overestimated my speed against his, _Seigi thought. _This is bad._

The Wu Jian walked over to one his fallen swords and picked it up.

_But even so, he is still human, _Seigi told herself. _If I can land a single palm strike, that should be enough to end this fight._

The mercenary stomped his feet in the ground again, and this time dozens of small rock pellets popped out from the ground. With a swipe of his hand, the projectiles launched themselves at the wounded Airbender. Seigi sent a blast of air that destroyed each of the pebbles, but as she did, the destroyed rocks exploded into a giant mist of dust that obscured her vision of her opponent. Knowing the Wu Jian was bound to use the dust cloud to cover his next attack, Seigi spun her body around to create a whirlwind that blew away the cloud and carried her into the air.

When the dust cleared, Seigi could clearly see her opponent watching from below her. With the altitude advantage, she sent a barrage of attacks in quick succession. The mercenary leapt out of the way just as concentrated pockets of air blasted the earth wide open, digging deep craters where he had just been standing. He dug his heels deep into the earth and with the arm that wasn't occupied by the sword, smashed his fist into the earth. Four giant rocks shot out and converged on Seigi from all sides.

Seigi allowed herself to fall back down towards the ground, scattering the tornado in the process. Above her, the four rocks slammed together to form a larger whole, bits and pieces of leftover rock falling in every which direction. Her opponent then raised his fists and swung them in a downwards motion, causing the boulder to freefall above Seigi. Seigi dived out of the way just as the boulder collided with the ground. The impact rattled her body, which was screaming at her as the pain in her abdomen started overwhelming the adrenaline that had pushed it temporarily aside.

There was no time for the pain, however. The Wu Jian charged as soon as Seigi had cleared out of the way, and once again she was put on the defensive. His thrusts and stabs were quick and on point, but Seigi's wasn't a master in name only. Her speed allowed her to dodge the attacks, but she was careful to keep both of her hands around her stomach, deflecting the slashes and swipes that was aimed at her weakest point.

But even her speed wasn't enough to keep up with her opponent's almost randomized attack patterns. His sword style was quick and reckless, thrusting his sword in the most unpredictable of spots. Her eyes were unable to follow his pattern, and she sustained a few cuts on the cheek and arm for miscalculating the direction of his jabs. He would also follow up with a set of punches with his other hand, which had become encased in a rockbound glove. Every time Seigi attempted to land a strike, his earth glove would merely absorb the shock.

This fight couldn't go much longer like this, Seigi realized.

So, Seigi continued to keep her breathing paced at even intervals. Her breaths were quickening, and her lungs burned with the need for more air to pump through her body, but she refused to give them any more than what she knew was required. She needed her body to hold on for just a little bit longer. Even with her eyes focused on the fight, she devoted part of her precious concentration power to tapping into the natural energies around her, collecting the wind whenever she had the chance, using her paced breathing as a call for the air to protect her.

With part of her mind focused on something else, the Wu Jian pressed his advantage, landing more critical cuts whenever he got the chance. A slit near her abdomen and a gash in her right shoulder. Seigi started feeling faint, the fatigue near overwhelming her conscious, her mind screaming at her to give in to the pain. Her robes slowly darkened as blood seeped from her stomach and shoulder. Every block felt like the last one she could hold, and it took most of the rest of her energy to keep her numb feet moving nimbly to dance away from her opponent's sword range.

But the one thing that had kept constant throughout the fight was her breathing.

Finally, she clapped her hands together. A surge of air resonating from Seigi's body sent her opponent, who had been lunging for a final stroke, flying backwards in surprise. He was smashed against a tree behind him, and was then hit again by a powerful gust that kept him pinned there until he raised his hand and set up a wall to shield himself. When the attack had subsided, and the Wu Jian stepped around the wall to look at his opponent, he could instantly see that Seigi's entire body was covered by a blurry rapid current of air.

_With my body in this state, I can probably hold the air armor for no longer than thirty seconds before my body breaks down, _Seigi thought. _That's going to have to do_.

With her first ten seconds, Seigi covered the distance between herself and the Wu Jian. If the man was surprised at her speed, he only showed it as an amused smirk. Seigi rammed her right palm forward, and though the Wu Jian was fast enough to react to her attack with his earthbound hands, the strength of the attack shattered the rock glove in an instant. Seigi then clenched her left fist and punched her opponent straight in the abdomen. The man had a layer of hard armor on, but that didn't stop his body from being flung like a toy to the edges of the nearby cliff that overlooked the beginnings of a river that flowed into the Serpent's Lake.

With her next ten seconds, Seigi reengaged her target. This time, her opponent appeared more prepared. He sent dozens of small to large sized rocks her way, but all of them were easily swiped away or dodged. By this point, Seigi was starting to feel the real effects of her abilities. Moving at lightning pace came at a price, and her muscles already felt spent and on the verge of tearing from her forcing them with her airbending to move abnormally fast. The fact that she was losing blood from her wounds didn't help.

When she was close, the Wu Jian engaged first with his sword, but now that Seigi's hands were encased in air, she could deflect them easily by smashing the flat side of her palm against the blade's sharpest edges. Both of them ducked and weaved over the other's attacks, but it was clear now that the fight was on more even grounds than before. Seigi pushed her body to the limits now, using the air to force her body to move faster and faster. She needed a finishing blow, or something that could cripple the man long enough for her to escape. She was running out of time.

With her last ten seconds, she went in for a palm strike, and when it was blocked, went for another, and then another. Each time she pushed new speeds and she felt as if her muscles were being stretched and torn over and over again as she repeated the same motion. Severe dizziness began settling in, her temples feeling as if they were being squeezed by someone who wanted to flatten her face. She could taste blood in her mouth, and her vision was blurred and only enough to see her opponent's swords blocking her strikes.

Then, an opening showed itself when the Wu Jian moved his sword to predict Seigi's next blow. It was this prediction that she was hinging on. She ducked, lowered her body to a crouch, raised both of her arms, and swung them as hard as she could at the man's legs. The two hands were like hammers collapsing on the man's thighs and the crack of bones told her that her blow was successful, but that wasn't enough. In the next second, she raised her arms again and then smashed the mercenary's bones below the knee too.

There was no scream. Seigi rose and let loose a violent final kick in the man's chest that threw him backwards until he lied face up in the spot where they had begun their fight.

At that moment, Seigi dispelled her air armor as quick as she could. She crumbled through to the floor, gasping for every breath of air that was around her. There was no time to even scream at the pain of her wounds. One hand flew to her stomach where she clenched tightly the blood that was still seeping through the wound, while the other held her chest tightly as she took ragged heavy breaths. Her eyes were dimming, her mind exhausted, but she kept her eyes on her unmoving opponent. His eyes were still wide open and moving, and he turned his slowly to meet her stare.

"What a monster," he said. His fingers were shaking as he stretched them out. "But it looks like you've run out of tricks yourself."

With his hands still unbroken he used his remaining strength to raise a large boulder that was sitting next to him. Seigi tried to use her hands to just swipe the attack away, but her arms were being unresponsive. Whether it was her fatigued mind, her torn and number muscles, or both, she couldn't move them at all. She attempted to move her legs, but they too were stuck where they were.

"You put a great fight, Miss Airbender," he said looking at Seigi, who helplessly gazed at the rock. "But this is where it all ends, I'm afraid."

The boulder slowly floated towards Seigi, as the Wu Jian moved to position the boulder right over her head to smash the Airbender with whatever strength he had left.

But as the boulder was just about to move over Seigi's head, the boulder suddenly dropped just centimeters away from her body. When she turned to look at her opponent, she saw that his eyes had closed, and his mouth was parted in a strangely eerie slumber.

At that moment, Seigi also fell on her back, hands still tightly clutching her stomach and chest. Her breathing was slowing down, but the pain in her body still ached, and there was no more adrenaline to subdue the feeling of the gash in her stomach. Her eyes were dimming, and sleep was preparing to embrace her. She took one last look at her opponent.

She knew she couldn't fall asleep in the event that the Wu Jian awoke before she did, but she had just spent the last few moments pushing her body beyond her limits.

So this time, her body told her what to do, and forced her lids to close.

_To be continued…_


	17. Lesson Seventeen

**Lesson Seventeen: The Nomad's Path Reconstructed, Part Two**

* * *

><p>The sky was grey and snow was falling. The wind howled. The ground was hidden by layers of deep snow and the mountains above were obscured by a thick fog.<p>

At the base of the mountain there were the remnants of a small village. It had been long abandoned. Most of the buildings in the area had collapsed, and the ones still standing seemed brittle in the cold winter air. There was a lone half torn flag at the top of the largest house in the center of the village. It flapped against the strong winds.

There were no roads that led up the mountain. At the end of the village, however, where the village met the base of the mountain, there was a lone figure staring up at the fog. He touched the mountain and then quickly drew his hand back. He looked around and then touched it again. A wave of nostalgia washed over him, and he remembered how long it must have been since he had touched this mountain.

He stared back at the village and remembered how long ago he had come down to this village to see the outside world. He remembered how he had brought many of his friends here, and, on that unfortunate day, lost almost all of them. He remembered, and he grieved, but he no longer regretted.

Shijin looked up, and he felt like he could see through the fog, see the walls of the Northern Air Temple, the Sky Bison flying freely through the air, the lemurs that tagged along with them, and his brethren sailing through the air without any worries in the world.

He touched the mountain again, and then he began to climb.

* * *

><p>Hana was overwhelmed by how large Ba Sing Se was.<p>

For the first few miles she walked a road that led her through endless fields of farmland. Wild crops that Hana noticed were grown only during the winter time flourished in the harsh cold. Farmers and their children hustled around the fields. Many of the livestock looked stronger and more muscular than those outside too. Occasionally Kupo would disappear into the crop fields, only to return with his mouth stuffed with some kind of vegetable.

Past the farmland was the Lower Ring. There were many homeless on the street, wrapped in rags and torn up blankets, holding their pots filled with spare change to those who passed. Some stood in shadowed alleys or walked nimbly through large crowds of people, daggers and agile fingers at the ready. There were many tea shops with broken windows, but not many restaurants. The restaurants that Hana saw were packed to the brim with people. Hana saw a lot of waitresses running from table to table and thought of Omashu. She was glad she was told that Bao Qian was in the Middle Ring.

She also saw a lot of the same small gambling rings in Omashu in many of the restaurants. Tall muscular, but not particularly bright looking, men sat triumphantly at the head of these tables, sabers and spears resting besides them as their followers watched with awe as they seemed to win every game. After learning more about the game, it became clear to Hana how these gambles worked and why these people always won.

For a long time, Hana had wondered how exactly gambling in Pai Sho could be done back in Omashu. After all, the game was about strategy and skill, not luck. But in these gambles, the game was a little different. Hana could see large stone pots filled with Pai Sho tiles that were obscured from view. Players would then draw a set of tiles, and would be forced to play with a "hand" of tiles that were laid standing upright. They would then pick a tile from the bottom of the pot, since the top tiles would inevitably be visible, whenever they placed a tile. It also looked like players needed to draw their tiles quickly to avoid being suspected of feeling the undersides of the tiles.

This would add an element of luck to the game, but it seemed intuitive to Hana that all someone needed to cheat in this game was to either mark their own tiles or remove certain tiles from the other player's pot. It wouldn't even be surprising if it was both.

There were a few more legitimate Pai Sho games being played in some of the nicer tea shops closer to the Middle Ring. These seemed like the shops where the guards near the wall of the Middle Ring would take their breaks during the afternoon. Older men and young people with backpacks filled with books and scrolls would sit at circular tables with fresh cups of tea. Hana watched for a few hours and looked for any styles that she had not seen before. It took a while before Hana realized that many people were watching her with bewildered expressions.

The most interesting thing that Hana did notice was that these Pai Sho games looked like they had taken much longer to finish. These games had not the usual two wheels or two badgermoles that seemed to be the case in Hana's games, but up to three or four. There were more flower tiles placed in very crucial defensive positions, and there were nearly no sky bison tiles in play. The white lotus tile, played very early in a lot in Hana's experience, came much later at times too, meaning the deployment phase of the game was especially important to these players.

It surprised Hana a little, and it took a little bit of time to realize that when she had played with Shijin, she had learned a style that Shijin had been using specifically to make quick money on the streets. There was simply not enough time for Shijin to teach her much else, and probably had intended to come to Ba Sing Se for that reason. Here, in the comforting and relaxed streets of Ba Sing Se, an old man could sit for hours over a single game and worry only about complex strategies.

It also showed her how conservative these players were. Their late placement of the white lotus suggested that neither player wanted to trade pieces yet. They'd build up their defenses in mutual understanding before bearing down on each other with a great number of pieces for greater flexibility. Hana couldn't understand this idea, and tried, mostly unsuccessfully though, to pinpoint when she would have placed her white lotus tile earlier. She had relied on only a few badgermoles to protect her pieces as opposed to this strength in numbers approach.

Hana desperately wanted to join in, but something told her it would be wise not to. There were no women watching the games. This wasn't new, but many of the players cast her very strange glances as they watched her move her eyes inquisitively over the board. It was a new, almost threatening, feel that Hana had not felt before. The men turned their broad backs to her, and it was hard for Hana to see the end of the games. She asked for people to move a few times, but the men didn't respond. Confused, but feeling that the day was getting late, Hana left the tea shops.

"Don't you think that's weird, Kupo?" Hana asked her badgermole. "I wonder what that was all about."

Moments later, she reached the wall that led into the Middle Ring of Ba Sing Se. There were several rows of tents lined up along the front of the wall, and there were quite a few wounded soldiers resting against nearby trees and makeshift beds. The gate into the Middle City was a large open archway. Upon reaching it, she was asked a series of questions by a guard standing at the front.

"Is this your first time in Ba Sing Se?" said one of the guards. He was sitting at a table with large stacks of paperwork strewn all over the surface . "What is the purpose of your visit?"

"Yes," said Hana. "I am looking for someone named Bao Qian. I have been told that he is in the Middle Ring of the city."

"The old retired Pai Sho master? Isn't that the person Sung talks about all the time?" said the guard, looking to the guard next to him with raised eyebrows. "Surely you couldn't mean him?"

"That should be him," Hana pulled out her bag of Pai Sho tiles. "I have been traveling with an Airbender teacher for a few months now. We were separated, but he directed me to Bao Qian, who will be helping me with the next stage of my training. These are my master's tiles, if you want proof that I'm a player."

"So these aren't stolen?" said the guard. He gave Hana the same look the other men in the tea shops gave her. He inspected the tiles and was quite satisfied with the craftsmanship. "Sorry, I don't mean to offend. You just look a little dirty for someone who has been traveling and playing a refined game like Pai Sho. Not to mention you're a woman."

"It's been a very rough journey," Hana said, slowly. That was a weird comment for the guard to make. In the outside world, it felt like a pleasant surprise to see a woman playing Pai Sho. Here it sounded unheard of, almost to the point of breaking the rules. Wasn't Shijin's mom a Pai Sho player? "And if you wish you can play me and judge me for how well I play."

"That, I can accept," nodded the guard. "I imagine if you were truly trained by an Airbender you must have some skill, despite the improbability of any of them finding you of any value. Sung! Come over here, I need you to play someone in Pai Sho."

A lanky man dressed in a guard uniform bounced out from a nearby tent. His eyes shined as he heard the words Pai Sho. He rushed over to the guards. When he saw Hana however, his smile vanished.

"This person wants to play Pai Sho?" said the man named Sung. "She's a woman."

"I'm a Pai Sho player," Hana corrected. "That should hardly make any difference."

"I'm not playing a woman in Pai Sho. That's utterly embarrassing. Go tell her to speak Haiku or write calligraphy," said Sung to the guards, ignoring Hana. "A woman playing Pai Sho. You guys should know better than to ask me to play."

"Wait Sung," said the guard.

Sung had already walked off. He went back into his tent and did not say another word. Hana said nothing in response, but she felt as she had been slapped. She felt anger, but there was something more saddening that overwhelmed her need to burst out with rage. It was not quite like when Shou had questioned her abilities when she was trained by Shijin. She couldn't explain it. Haiku? Calligraphy? What were those things, Hana wondered. She only knew the life of a whorehouse and a life of Pai Sho.

Before, old men, young merchants, and tired farmers had wide eyes but gentle smiles when seeing Hana playing Pai Sho. Even the Wu Jian governor had not done something so disdainful as to turn away an offer to play. To Hana, it seemed like a badge of honor to be a woman and to play Pai Sho. Were those surprised expressions actually saying the same thing as Sung, that it was a commonly held belief that women should not be playing Pai Sho?

"I'm sorry," said the guard, and then spoke as if he read her mind. "But, you must understand, a woman playing Pai Sho does not happen in Ba Sing Se. After all, none of them can hope to be good at the game. We do not care much, we are just trying to get people through this gate if they qualify, but unfortunately you will have to do something else if you want to get through. I am sorry, but it appears we cannot let you through unless you show a demonstration of your skill."

"Well, wouldn't it be easy if you had another Pai Sho player come?" Hana asked. "Or I can just ask another person in the Lower City."

"That is the thing," said the guard. "I would be quite surprised if you found anyone in this city who would bother playing Pai Sho with a woman. I was already doubtful with Sung."

"The farmers outside had no problems playing with me," Hana said.

"That is there, and this is here," said the guard. "Ba Sing Se is a land of culture, of customs, of tradition. I am afraid many here are not as unrefined as many farmers out there may be. I would like to help, you, I really would, but I am sorry. There is no further proof that you are actually to be taught by Bao Qian, since I do not know if you are actually a Pai Sho player. As a result, I do not acknowledge you have any business, nor do I imagine you have enough the gold piece to pay the toll. This is as far as you go for now."

"You won't play me?" Hana raised her eyebrow.

"It is a matter of pride," said the guard. "I had expected Sung's enthusiasm to overpower his cultural senses. Unfortunately, they did not."

"Can you perhaps send him a letter then?" said Hana. The guard's last statement was a stab to the heart. "I know what I must tell him."

"That is also possible," nodded the guard. "I have a brush and paper here, if you would like to write it here. I imagine the message must be short."

Hana reached for the brush and then stopped. Her cheeks flushed red as she remembered. Of all the times for her lack of knowledge in reading and writing to come bite her, it had to come now. Tears threatened to burst forth as she hesitantly pulled back her hand. She shook her head.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know how to write," Hana admitted. "Would it be okay if you wrote the message for me?"

"Miss. I have tried to be patient," said the guard, holding a hand to his forehead. "A woman who professes she plays Pai Sho, who says she is going to be taught by a famous retired Pai Sho player, happens to not know how to write and is asking me, a lowly guard, to write a letter for her? Are you mocking me? Trying to waste my time?"

"No!" Hana almost shouted. She wanted to bang her fist against the table, but knew that would only make things worse. "I only know the characters on the tiles. I really don't know anything else. I was only taught how to play Pai Sho."

"Get out of my sight," the guard sighed. "There are only so many frauds I can take in one day."

Hana clenched her fists and swiped the Pai Sho tiles away from the guard's hands. But she had done it too quickly, and many of the tiles fell to the floor. Quickly, Hana bent down and tried picking them up, while the rest of the guards snickered at her, murmuring things to each other within earshot.

"She says she's a Pai Sho player? What kind of joke is that? Who told her she was born a man?"

Hana tried to ignore them and tried to focus on the wiping off the dirt from Shijin's precious tiles. But her prostrate position, her hands reaching clumsily for the tiles while others stood over her, made her feel weak and a lesser person. She held in her tears. They would at least not get the pleasure of seeing her weep at their insults.

It was at that moment, at the height of Hana's embarrassment, when she was about to burst out with rage, that she heard loud shouts behind her and the beating of hooves. When she turned, Hana could see two men on their ostrich horses racing towards the gate. One of them was shouting while the other was holding up his hands. Hana could see there was a third pair of arms and legs behind the first rider.

"Let us through," said the rider as he approached. "We have a wounded Airbender with us. We need to get to the medical center."

"Where did you come from?" said the guard, turning his attention away from Hana.

"We came from the mountains a few days ago," said the rider. "There was a wounded Wu Jian there who we presume to have fought with the Airbender. He was awake and we fled the scene before he attacked us. They were both hurt badly."

Hana, suddenly alarmed at this mention of an Airbender, picked herself up and rushed over to the ostrich horse's side without a second thought. It was Seigi. She looked calm in her sleep, but her body told a different story. She was cut and bruised in many places. A lot of the blood appeared to have been washed off already but some of the bandages were no longer fresh.

"Seigi, it's me, it's me, Hana. What did the Wu Jian do to you," said Hana. She gently nudged the Airbender's cheeks. She seemed to stir a little. "It's Hana, remember? Shijin's student."

Seigi seemed to respond to that name.

"Hey what are you doing?" said the guard. "Get away from there."

The rider looked down at Hana and appeared tempted to kick her away if it wasn't for the weak person on his back.

"I know this woman," Hana said. "She and my master, Shijin, are good friends. She could tell you."

"First you embarrass me for wanting me to write a letter and now you're just making up stories and harassing the wounded?" the guard yelled. He motioned to the men behind him. "Arrest her!"

"No, please you have to listen!" Hana shouted as the guards circled around her. Kupo was growling, preparing to fight. "Please just listen to me. I really am a Pai Sho player. I can show it. I'm supposed to be entered in a tournament. Just let me in. You can even have a guard with me if you're so troubled by this."

It didn't help. None of the guards listened to her at all. The approached her slowly, wary of the badgermole at Hana's side. A few people had gathered to witness the commotion. Everyone seemed to give Hana that same penetrating gaze, asking her why she was here and what made her think she belonged in the world of Pai Sho.

A hand touched Hana's shoulders. The guards all gasped. Hana turned around to see Seigi weakly holding herself up. Her eyes were glaring at the guards around her.

"I don't know what's going on," Seigi croaked. "But this girl is with me, so she better be by my side when I wake up."

* * *

><p>When Seigi woke up, she was lying down on a firm mattress. For the first time in days of smelly futons and rough naps on the bumpy backs of ostrich horses, Seigi felt as if she had taken a long comfortable slumber much deserved. Her arms and legs felt much better. They were still sore, but she could move them now. She brushed the thought of the battle with the Wu Jian away from her mind. It only brought too many painful memories.<p>

As she had asked, Hana was dozing next to her, sitting on a chair while her back was slumped over, head pressed against Seigi's thighs. Hana's clothes were cleaner, now. The badgermole that she always had around was in a corner, eating away at some cooked food in a large bowl. Seigi reached over and brushed her hand over Hana's hair. That seemed to be enough to wake her up.

"You're awake," Hana yawned. "You slept all of yesterday. The guards almost didn't let me out at all because they were scared you would wake up."

"What are you doing here?" Seigi asked. "Did Shijin not show you a road to the north before you two were separated?"

"No," Hana said. "He wanted me to come to Ba Sing Se if we ever became separated."

"That idiot," Seigi whispered. She sighed. "So that's the kind of choice he makes. Figures. It sounds exactly like him."

"You saw Shijin didn't you?" Hana said. She seemed more alert at the sound of his name. She clutched Seigi's hands. "Please tell me he's okay. Where is he?"

"I rescued him from the Wu Jian who were pursuing him," Seigi said. "I can't say any more than that because I honestly do not know. But I imagine he's gone north, away from you, for now at least."

"That's good. The rest doesn't matter," Hana said. Then she blushed. She let go of Seigi's hands. "I'm sorry, I'm probably being very rude. Are you feeling okay? Should I fetch you something to drink? There was a nurse who came by just a while ago asking if someone wanted any hot tea."

"I'm fine. There's no need for you to go that far for me. After all, we've barely spoke," Seigi smiled. "I'm more curious as to why Shijin sent you here. He must have had his reasons."

"He said there was a man named Bao Qian who would help me if we were ever separated," Hana said. "He lives in the Middle Ring, but I don't know where. I came here with the hopes of finding him, but the guards wouldn't let me pass for some reason. They even didn't want to play with me because I was a woman."

The bad memory clutched Hana's heart and wouldn't let go. She wiped a few tears from her eyes.

"This place is so strange," Hana said. "Everywhere I tried looking at Pai Sho games, everyone gave me the strangest of looks. It's like I didn't belong, like a woman shouldn't be playing Pai Sho at all. I never felt like this outside the city."

"Welcome to Ba Sing Se," Seigi murmured. "Shijin should have warned you, but there's a reason why Ba Sing Se is the cultural center of the world. It's the home of the elite. Class and wealth is very important, and Pai Sho is an intellectual's game, not the game of commoners or women who have never been educated before. By the way, this applies specifically to the Earth Kingdom woman, who is rarely taught Pai Sho, and often learns things deemed lesser and easier such as writing poetry.

"He said I could come here and play in a tournament," Hana said. "I was hoping I'd enter."

"I don't even know if they'd let you," Seigi shook her head. "And Shijin said he'd do all of this? And who is this Bao Qian person? I don't think I've ever heard of him."

"The guards were talking about him," Hana said. "They said he was some retired Pai Sho master. Shijin just said he would help me if I mentioned his name."

"Well, I imagine now that you're in the Middle Ring, you could maybe ask around," Seigi said, and then realized that Hana was looking down, her hands holding the bed sheets very tightly. "Is there something wrong?"

"I don't want to go back out there," Hana said. "I don't want to have to deal with those people looking at me like that again, and telling me I can't play because I'm a woman. It was humiliating. They were all laughing at me. All this time I've wondered about the fact that not a lot of girls played Pai Sho. Now I know why."

Hana started crying. It was a very soft, somber cry. Seigi stroked her hair and laid Hana's head on her lap, unsure of what else to do. After all the times she had gotten emotional over losing Shijin, over separating from Li, and traveling alone in the cold winter, Hana would have thought all her tears had been spent.

She was ashamed of herself. She knew it was petty, to be so upset at having been rejected in this manner. It was not her normal self. Maybe it was the stress that had built up, but she knew had Shijin been there, she would have yelled at the guard and forced people to play her in Pai Sho that day until she had gotten the gold piece necessary to pay the toll.

But Shijin was not here, and Hana, as independent as she thought she was, had been at a loss for words. Seigi read her thoughts almost instantly.

"Ba Sing Se is what it is, but that's no reason to give up your passions because of this place," Seigi said. "Is this really Shijin's student? Someone who just falls over and starts crying because she doesn't get what she wants? Since when did you become a master Pai Sho player and consider yourself worthy of other people's acceptance?"

"I never did," Hana shook her head.

"When I first met you," Seigi said. "You immediately told me to take you to Shijin. There was no fear in your voice. You never wavered, and you went straight for what you wanted, right? Where is that girl now? If someone doesn't want you to play, then why don't you force them to play? I bet you I could get those people who rejected you to play with me. And once I've beaten them so many times they've lost count of their tiles, they would respect me."

"That's different," Hana said. "You're a master Airbender, and you must be amazing at Pai Sho too. I'm still just a beginning. I have nothing to my name."

"That's how we all start," Seigi said. "As beginners, with no trophies to brag about."

"Maybe you could teach me, then?" Hana asked. "I think I'd be more comfortable learning from you than someone in the city."

"I could," Seigi nodded. Then, she chuckled. "But I think, now that I've seen your tears, that Shijin had you come here to search for this Bao Qian for a reason. That fool. It seems like he hasn't changed at all."

"Reason?" Hana said. "You mean to tell me that being treated like I did out there, like a fraud who should never be allowed to play the only thing she has ever learned how to do, was Shijin's reason for me to come to Ba Sing Se?"

"Perhaps," Seigi smiled. "Ask yourself. Truly, Hana. What is it that you want now, more than ever, after what those guards said to you?"

"I want to prove them wrong," Hana said without hesitation. "I want to play them in Pai Sho and beat them, a hundred times if I have to, to prove that an Earth Kingdom woman can play in Pai Sho. And win."

"That's what I thought you'd say. You see, Hana," Seigi said. "Shijin used to have a flare of justice about him. He would always try to fight against things that he thought was wrong. In some ways it got him into trouble. Sometimes, terrible, terrible trouble. I thought after certain things happened I'd never see that part of him again. But I think I see Shijin's sense of what is right inside you right now."

"What do you mean?" Hana asked.

"A long, long time ago," Seigi said. "When Shijin and his mom were very passionate about competitive Pai Sho, they would both talk about how to revolutionize the game. To become more dynamic, so to speak. Nobody cared about Earth Kingdom strategies, or Fire Nation tricks, and Water Tribe Pai Sho was a joke. Everyone only watched the Air Nomads because they would always win. Both Shijin and his mom thought that Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation strategies had a lot of merit. It was just that they were mostly uninspired and a lack of innovation in these strategies left a lot to be desired before being brought into competitive play."

"Shijin's mom had the idea of winning a big tournament playing only with Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom openings, and using that to show people that the Nomad's Path wasn't the only strategy that could be used," Seigi continued. "But she passed away a long time before she could do it, leaving Shijin with the responsibility of following in her footsteps. But after her death, Shijin lost almost all his passion for the game, and ended up using it as a way of earning money and traveling from town to town in his spare time. I think even to this day, Shijin would never pick up competitive Pai Sho again."

"I think Ba Sing Se is everything that Shijin hated about Pai Sho," Seigi said. "He had a profound anger at the cultural elite in the city, and after what you've seen, perhaps you can begin to understand why."

"So I'm just a way for Shijin to fulfill his mom's dream?" Hana asked.

"Perhaps," Seigi said. "But I don't think Shijin would have chosen someone unless he knew he would grow to love that someone very much. After all, he had all but given up on that dream a long time ago. I don't think he ever considered a pupil until he met you."

"So after all of that, you still think I should find this Bao Qian person," Hana said. Seigi nodded. "And you still think I should enter in Ba Sing Se's tournaments. Even if I get rejected, or they won't let me play, or they'll mock me, or call me a fraud, or think I'm not even smart enough to play this game."

To all of that, Seigi nodded.

"You want me to do all of these things, because it would be the right thing to do?" Hana asked.

Seigi nodded.

"Do you think I can do it?" Hana said. "Be honest. Do you think I can do all of that and win?"

"No," Seigi shook her head. "Not as you are right now, no."

Seigi knew that was what she needed to say. Pride would do the rest.

"Okay then," said Hana after a long silence. "I'll do it."

"But first, I'll go fetch you some tea, and then you're going to help me."

_To be continued…_


End file.
